


Tempered Fragments

by Ikasury



Series: Tempered Fragments AU [1]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles, Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Genre: Angst, Bad Humor, Daddy!Tiger, Derp Side Quest Shenanigans, F/F, Femslash, God is a Pervert, Hurl Them for Fun!, Its a deal, KOS-MOS - Freeform, Mama!BlueFlame, Mentions everyone - Freeform, Nopon are Demi-Gods, Shooting Ether Canons for the Lulz, Should not be writing this late, Spoilers, Spoilers for Plot Points, Takes off her Hat, Through The End Scene, Written as part of daily practice, Yuri, everywhere, herald - Freeform, seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-18 11:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 62,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13099038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ikasury/pseuds/Ikasury
Summary: While on the Titan Boat to Tantal, Nia is awake reflecting on what's happened so far since she got arrested in Gormott. In particular, her feelings towards her fellow drivers, especially Morag. After what happened on the Imperial Ship in Indol, she's not sure why the Imperial Inquisitor's continued presence leaves her unusually anxious...(Spoilers through the End - Now mostly a drabble pile)





	1. Tempered Fragment

**Author's Note:**

> Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was just released and i find it funny trying to find stuff for it, but its probably too early, and this idea just wont leave me alone!!
> 
> Thanks game for convincing me Morag is gay, or heavily leans that way, because Heart-to-Heart side bits and i cannot help but love how her and Nia interact... canon or not, this is my ship for this game~ 
> 
> (Along with AdaninexWulfric!)
> 
> Hope you enjoy, this was written as part of my daily prompts for a self imposed '100 days' challenge, so no idea if there'll be more, but seeing as i don't see any of this out yet, figured i'd post it for those that might be looking as well~
> 
> ENJOY!!

Tempered Fragment

Nia was sitting on her bed, back facing the door as she looked up at the stars through the small window in her cabin. Technically it was the girls’ cabin, but usually she only shared it with Pyra, and whenever the temperamental Mythra was in control she left soon as she thought the Gormotti woman was asleep.

– _Proly off sneakin’ into Rex’s bed again, eh?_ \- she couldn’t help but smirk at that, in a clandestine kind of way. She had thought, after what happened in Gormott, after Rex saved her and they managed to escape together, that she would fall for him like she had Jin.

It was just a crush, she knew that, an admiration she couldn’t help but form towards the two men who’d helped her out of a jam when all seemed lost.

But that was before she truly understood how deeply he felt for Pyra, and in a way Mythra. They were sort of like two sides of the same person, and he loved both immensely, but Nia knew there was a bit more affection towards the gentle fire type Blade, even if both of them were foolish enough to refuse it.

She had decided in Gormott, with the help of her own Blades, that she wasn’t going to be that for Rex. It was cute watching as his more clingy Blades got jealous of his relationship with Pyra, and instead of being hurt or pinning like them, she just felt sympathy for the girls. Nia helped where she could, being a wall at times and distracting his rowdier Blades, babysitting her own and tagging them along, cause she knew those two were just blind dopes, not knowing what they were doing dancing around each other like that.

- _Jeez, can’t even get the two of them their own room without heads rollin’ ‘bout…_ \- After what happened with Vandham and Mythra coming about, adding a really weird third wheel to the whole ordeal, Nia had fully given up. Mythra was pushier than Pyra, only holding back when apparently the ‘quiet’ one of the two said too. Nia honestly laughed her tail off when Rex got thrown out of his own room the first time thanks to Mythra ‘sleep walking’… right into his bed. Pyra had been so embarrassed and Mythra just left her hanging with the baggage.

After Mor Ardain, Nia couldn’t help but rile the two up as much as possible. Stupid kids weren’t ever going to get anywhere at this rate… and it was mighty fun to tease them. She’d been surprised how much Morag, the same woman that had threatened to torture her and they’d dropped a water tower on as the first ‘real enemy’ back in Gormott, was such a sucker for a good tease at Rex and Pyra’s expense.

It seemed the special Imperial Inquisitor had a deadly sense of humor, something Nia was proud to say she could pull out of the normally so tight lipped and uptight woman.

Oh, they hated each other… at first. Nia felt she should be angry about the woman, who she was, what she’d done to them, their past fighting and her arresting them and all that other malarkey back in Gormott cause of her!

Hell, she was still tense around her in Mor Ardain, more so then the rest as she didn’t trust her or the empire one bit. She’d had every right to yell at the woman when they first got to Leftheria…

She’d been somewhat surprised, and put off, that all the special Imperial Inquisitor did was give this deferring nod, maybe even a small smirk, and just agreed with her. They had every right to not trust her and she didn’t expect them to forget the past so easily, but hoped they could work together now that their paths aligned… and hopefully not drop another water tower on her.

Nia couldn’t help but crack a smile at that… agreeing to dislike her but that they could ‘get along’ at least.

Morag seemed genuinely pleased by that.

When they’d gone back to Mor Ardain for some matter, Nia had wandered up to the ramparts of the palace, just having a good look at the place. Morag had followed her up there for some reason and the Gormotti woman couldn’t help but yell at her… about the stupidity of the empire, its stupid pride, the damn war… she’d been surprised to see Morag give her that sincere smirk again, agreeing with her, even apologizing to some extent for her people.

What the hell was Nia supposed to say to that… she hadn’t expected it from the Inquisitor…

It was probably at that point she decided she liked the woman enough that they could be friends.

After that it was snide remarks and comments bluntly stated, about each other, about their company, even a few laughs and jokes just between them. It was strange having a true friend in someone she’d once thought of as only an enemy.

And Morag could be merciless with her teasing. Nia thought she was good, especially at Pyra, Mythra, and Rex’s expense, but no, oh no, the great Imperial Inquisitor and her legendary Blade Brighid could snipe the rug right out from under someone. She was good, all that training and tactics she used to get information out of someone she could just as easily turn on a friend and pull out a witty retort that made you feel literally god-smacked.

Brighid and Dromarch together could be even worse, Nia did not like when those two got together.

Still, despite their growing closeness and fondness for each other as friends, Nia was always reminded how separate Morag made herself from them. She knew why, she’d gathered it from how tightly Morag acted, especially in public where people could recognize her. Nia figured it was a habit she couldn’t break, that absolute control. It was intimidating, but Morag was representing Mor Ardain, the fact she could get a joke out of her or have her crack that knowing smirk now and then must have been something serious.

Typically Morag got her own accommodations separate from them, this was even more pronounced when they were in Indol. Morag and Brighid shared a room on the end, and Nia was with Pyra or Mythra, depending who was in control, on the other side next to the boys’ room. Thankfully that shellhead had his own room and she didn’t have to worry about him one bit.

So it just… became the norm. Anywhere they stayed, Morag and her Blade were separated from them, while Rex and his party had their separate rooms. It didn’t bother Nia, at first, but over time… it felt distant.

Indol made everything feel different, and she was reminded flat out how separate their worlds were, when she and Rex were banned from the conference after what happened in Temperantia.

Here the day before they were fighting side by side, Morag leading the charge trying to stop her country from doing something reckless and stupid, and Nia was trying to keep the woman from getting herself killed in the process. They worked well in battle, Morag tanking the enemies, soaking up the damage, while Nia kept her in one piece as the boys charged ahead to attack. It showed a lot, how selfless she was taking the hits like that or dodging magnificently, but it really pissed Nia off how much of a beating she’d take for them, usually standing near her since monsters and Drivers liked to go after her for healing the rest… it was tactical but damn did it still piss her off.

But the next day? The cold Inquisitor was back and with barely a nod, her, that shellhead and Mythra were talking to the rulers of nations all day.

Nia didn’t want to say she was ‘upset’ that the next day Zeke wanted them to leave straight for Tantel, without Morag… but she was worried about the woman. Really worried…

To the point she about yelled at her for not coming with them when she showed up, just as they were about to leave, and approached them with an ‘unofficial’ mission from the Empire. She hated the way Morag could so easily pretend like this was nothing but convenience, giving her a look that spoke volumes about how the Ardanian ought to just suck it up and admit she wanted help from her _friends_ and therefore trusted them over anyone else.

Then she gave them that sincere small smile of hers and Nia couldn’t be all that angry with her anymore.

With everything that happened on the imperial ship… Nia was surprised to see Morag return to them, to continue their journey together to Tantel. She knew… _knew_ it couldn’t have been easy for Morag, but she couldn’t say she wasn’t happy to see her again, especially after what she’d suffered…

That was the closest Nia had ever seen Morag to tears, to full on rage, to such a point she wasn’t the Inquisitor anymore but an older sister out for bloody revenge on those that killed… no, _hurt_ , her little brother.

Nia made sure he was _only_ hurt, and nothing else… she never wanted to see that look on Morag’s face again. It hurt, too much.

She had been prepared to never see the Ardanian woman again, expected she would stick by her brother and protect the Emperor, better than before.

Instead, Morag met them just before their boat set sail, talking some nonsense about being an official envoy or whatever now from the Empire, like everything was back to how it was before.

Only this time, she openly smiled. Not grand, Nia couldn’t imagine a large expressive smile like Zeke, Tora or Rex did on Morag, but something softer, gentler, kinder than it was before… almost like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders and she was really joining them for real.

That had made Nia happy, or at least she thought it made her happy. More like nervous, for some reason.

She had been fully prepared to let her friend go, let her live her own life outside the weird snare she and Dromarch and even that shellhead and Pandoria had gotten themselves all mixed up in. it was crazy, all of it, no way a sensible woman like Morag, and Brighid by extension, would _want_ to stick around this dangerous bunch of crazy.

But she did, she was here, on this boat…

Just a room or two down, Nia supposed…

- _Why the hell’sat make me all nervous!_ \- it made Nia shake on her bed, staring up at the stars. All this reminiscing and she wasn’t a bit closer to falling asleep.

One of her catlike Gormotti ears flicked towards the door, registering as someone entered the room without turning around. Nia gave an undignified snort, “Ey? You get caught again? I tell ya you gotta-!!” as Nia turned around to mercilessly tease either Pyra or Mythra for slinking back into their room, she stopped, gold eyes staring at the door.

Morag was standing against the door.

Gold eyes blinked, again for good measure, as Nia sat up proper, turning more towards the Ardanian woman, “M-Morag?! Wassis about?” she shook her head, not wanting to sound offended or anything, “No, sorry, that’s, that’s not what I meant! Just…” holding her eyes closed a moment, the Gormotti woman shook her head before opening them again, “What… what you doin’ here?”

Morag took precise steps forward, fluttering her long uniform making Nia wonder if she ever took that damn thing off, before her light brown eyes stared intensely at the Gormotti driver through the metal visor of her cap.

Nia’s golden eyes widened, catlike ears dropping low, terrified and unsure what was going on, “Eh… uh, M-Morag…?”

The Ardanian officer stopped at the foot of Nia’s bed, only really on the other side of it, and still giving that look that held far too much emotion, something Nia was simply not used to from her normally so callous and aloof friend. Pale lips opened to speak on the taller woman but no words came out, causing Nia to look slightly more terrified, and strangely Morag to take a deep breath and seem… _almost_ embarrassed, “I… I wanted… to say… to give my…” with each stuttered start Morag seemed to get increasingly upset with herself, quickly shaking her head before trying again.

Seeing such a strange sight from the normally so eloquent Morag, Nia just blinked, got worried and jumped off the side of the bed to walk up next to her friend. It was funny, in a way, being reminded each time she walked up to Morag just how much taller the woman was, Nia only really came up to her chest and that was with her ears, so normally this made the Imperial Inquisitor so much more daunting and intimidating, an effect she _normally_ employed very well to attract the attention of their enemies on the battlefield.

But instead, for some reason, as Nia looked up at her now, she looked small, “Ey? What you goin’ on about?” Nia rubbed the side of her face like a cat, a bit of an unconscious habit she did when trying to act tougher than she felt, which normally wasn’t that bad around Morag, least nowadays. But this was weird… just plain weird.

Morag turned to her, that intense look in her eyes and the tightness of her face making Nia almost think she was angry at her, “I just…” she stared, stopping again with a slight grimace.

Nia’s ears twitched as she raised a light brow, leaning over with her hands on her hips just staring at the woman, “Yea? You said that part already, gonna get the rest of it out?”

A small, almost relieved looking smirk made its way on Morag’s face as she raised her hand to cover up her face, “You, really are… hard to talk to at times…”

Rubbing her nose again, Nia snorted, “Hmp, dunno what yer goin’ on about, I’m the easiest person around to talk to,” a small smirk rose on her face, showing a fang to the normally so imposing woman.

Morag’s hand lowered and her light brown eyes just narrowed on her, but it seemed she was at least a bit amused now, “I was trying to say…” she lowered her hand, putting both of them behind her back as she made to resemble her normal stoic stance, “Thank you, Nia… for saving my… His Majesty…” she couldn’t help the deep emotional swallow halfway through.

Nia just rolled her eyes, looking away, “Was nothing, like I said, j-just some… needed some first aid and a proper look over…” she didn’t want to look Morag in the eye, didn’t want her to get a hint of what she’d actually done. – _Cause that boy just got **hurt** , nothing more… I didn’t… didn’t do anything else…_-

“Do you take me for a fool?” when Nia looked back up, Morag had a frown on her face, her dark brows low and that intense look was back, “He was dead.”

Nia obviously flinched at that, not wanting to say it out loud.

Morag just continued on, “I held him, in my arms, and with his wounds…” pain raced across her face and behind her back her hands clinched into tight fists, “But more importantly, Agenion… he… he returned to his core crystal…” sharp light brown eyes bore into the Gormotti woman below her, “I’ve seen enough in this world to know a corpse when I see one, he was dead.”

Hiking up her shoulders, Nia withdrew, not having the strength to back away but her ears set down and she couldn’t bring herself to look at her friend. She was right, and had caught her in her lie, “Morag, please, I didn’t want to tell you cause…”

A gloved hand made its way to the side of Nia’s face, forcing her to look forward, towards her friend, her shame…

And before she knew what was happening, the taller woman was leaning down and kissing her on the lips.

Those Gormotti ears of hers went straight up, eyes wide and just stock still.

Then perhaps just as startling, Morag knelt in front of her and hugged her tightly around the neck, putting her head into her shoulder and just held her tightly.

“You brought him back…”

There were tears in those words and a softness to them she could not understand.

Without thinking, Nia’s arms rose, clutching around her shoulders and pulled her closer, rubbing her face against Morag’s cheek, feeling everything that was going on.

“I brought him back… for you…”

Pulling back, Morag looked at her, just looked at her with a set of emotions in her eyes along with drying tears and flushed cheeks. She whispered, clutching Nia’s shoulders, “Thank you.”

Nia’s cream colored grey ears just dropped as she looked away from that intense stare, “I’m sorry…”

Immediately Morag’s hands rose, as if touching something hot, and she too looked away, withdrawing her hands, “I… too… am sorry… that was… inappropriate of me, just… forget it ever happened…”

“No, I-!!” without thinking Nia turned back on the woman, surprised by her retreat, that wasn’t what she meant, “I just… I shouldn’t have…” she shook her head, when Morag gave her a funny look, “I… I mean, I’m not… I shouldn’t ‘ave done that, but I couldn’t…” she held her fists at her sides shaking as her gold eyes trailed the floor, “I should ‘ave just let it go, or-or actually done it cause it was the right thing ta do, for everyone around, the whole world an’ all… but I…” skittishly she brought her eyes up, pouting a little, “In that instant… I couldn’t… I couldn’t let you get hurt like that…”

Despite her visor, Nia could see those black brows rise, crumpled in the middle of her forehead as emotions seemed to just well up in the Inquisitor. She pursed her lips, tentatively reaching out to cup the side of Nia’s face again, running a gloved thumb over one of the white marks on Nia’s face.

Without thinking, Nia just nuzzled into the hand, accepting it and wishing the glove was gone. Raising one of her own hands she held Morag’s hand to her cheek, “So… what now?”

For a moment, it seemed the Ardanian woman bit her lip, looking more unsure then Nia had ever seen her. In a way it was very refreshing, seeing this vulnerable side of the woman.

“I-I don’t know…” was the response Morag finally gave.

A mean smirk rose on Nia’s face, as she nuzzled into the Inquisitor’s captive hand, even going so far as to nibble her thumb with her eyes closed, “That’s a shame, I’d have thought the Imperial Inquisitor wouldn’ta been so afraid…” when one of those golden eyes cracked open she could see red rising on Morag’s pale face, “You started so strong…”

The red rising on Morag’s face got to such a point she couldn’t help but look away, embarrassed and maybe a bit ashamed of her conduct, “I-I hadn’t meant to do that…”

Nia just looked the other way, holding her hand, speaking softly, “So why did you?”

There was a funny sound, like fabric being removed, that caught Nia’s attention, making her ear closest to Morag flick up, as she opened her eyes and turned towards her.

Morag had a glove in her mouth and was taking it off with her teeth. It was such an out of place action Nia couldn’t help but blink surprised, unconsciously letting go of the hand she had been holding, which Morag didn’t immediately withdraw until she realized it was okay and took off both her gloves and her hat, setting it down and placing her uniform gloves in it then sat back against the bed and loosed the top few buttons of her uniform jacket.

For a second Nia just blinked and stared at the Ardanian woman in front of her. It was only three pieces of clothing removed and her top few buttons undone, but the effect it had was almost as if Morag had suddenly stripped in front of her.

Nervously, Morag pulled at her lone central bang, glancing to the side, “I am… not used to this…” quickly she glanced up at Nia then back down to the ground, “I am… supposed to… always show a certain side of myself, be the face of the Empire, so I’ve never… truly… considered engaging in anything, with someone else… for my own… _personal_ …”

When her voice just trailed off Nia couldn’t help but raise a brow. – _So this is what’s underneath the Imperial Inquisitor’s shell?_ \- it was the same woman, the same woman she had seen take hits from creatures five times her size and never lose her cool… now a nervous ball of insecure feelings she didn’t know how to express, sitting uncomfortably at the foot of her bed. – _The closest she can get to being ‘unbound’ is just undoing the top few buttons of her uniform, heh…_ \- against herself, Nia couldn’t help but rub her nose and smirk.

“I think you look rather cute like that, Morag…”

At first the Aranian woman could only stiffen. No one had ever called her ‘cute’. She was always this intimidating presence that got awe inspired respect and terror in equal measure from foes and subordinates alike. Hell, half the time people mistook her for a man, despite how much effort she took to take care of herself in arguably more feminine ways. Even Brighid lightly teased her about it. But that was the image she had cultivated over the years, the face the Empire could be proud of her to use to represent it…

She never thought of herself as ‘cute’.

During her momentary lapse, Nia had knelt down beside her, worming her way under the taller woman’s arm and comfortably wrapped herself with it, like a blanket, and nuzzled up to Morag’s chest, closing her eyes, “This is nice, you’re really warm…”

After a moment, Morag tentatively lowered her hand, forcing herself to relax a bit, even if her hands felt uncomfortably sweaty, “Mor Ardain is a hot and harsh climate, remember,” she lowered her leg, tugging the Gormotti woman a bit closer, “The same could be said of her people…”

Nia nuzzled more into her chest, rolling around to face Morag more and wound up more halfway in her lap, “I could get used to this…”

Morag seemed to stiffen a moment again, unsure of herself, but Nia just nestled in close, giving her time to react. Once the moment passed, she seemed to settle in her own position more comfortably, reaching down and hesitantly touching Nia’s cream colored grey Gormotti ears.

They twitched for a moment, back, almost defensively and those gold eyes of Nia’s opened, watching her suspiciously.

This was personal, just as personal as it was for Morag to take off her gloves and hat, to unbutton her jacket and shed some of her outer shell. The look in Nia’s eyes, when her hand reached for her ears, was the same kind of look a wounded animal makes when defending itself, daring whoever it was to try something. It’s what made them very dangerous, and Nia, thanks to whatever happened in her past that Morag still didn’t know that brought her to work for an organization like Torna… she was weighing Morag right now, judging what she’d do… if she’d live up to her original threats as an Ardanian Inquisitor, or as the person she had become since they’d gotten to know each other…

It was an instinct, a habit, not something Nia probably knew she was doing.

A light smile traced on Morag’s lips as she trailed her finger, gently, along the edge of Nia’s catlike ear.

That gold eye closed and she seemed to nuzzle further into Morag’s lap, allowing this contact.

Morag released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, smiling in relief as rubbing Nia’s ear brought about a calmness to both of them.

After about a minute of this tender treatment, Nia nuzzled further into Morag’s stomach, grabbing her around the waist, “It’s gonna be really awkward if Mythra walks in on us like this,” further nuzzling, “Pyra might not be so bad, but Mythra surely won’t shut up about it…”

A smirk rose on the Inquisitor’s face, having started to lightly doze off, “Brighid will keep her away, I’m sure…”

“Oh?” that gold, suspicious, cat like eye questioned the Ardanian woman.

Morag just smirk, seemingly knowing something Nia didn’t, “Call it a high priority mission, watching her Driver’s back…”

Nia just gave her a look, before turning back into her lap, “Don’t be cheeky,” she reached up and grabbed at the Inquisitor’s chest, making the woman go stiff, “Though I’m sure between her and Dromarch, no one would be able to get in this room…” for a second Nia trailed off, then seemed to pop up, hands supporting her on both sides of Morag’s legs as she had a funny smirk on her face.

With such an intense look directed her way, Morag could only blush at whatever implications the team healer was trying to suggest.

Nia’s ears twitched back and forth, the fur on them a bit more bristled than a moment ago as she leaned in with that smug look on her face, slowly capturing the Ardanian woman’s soft lips.

As the kiss ended, Morag’s eyes slowly opened, recognizing the rising heat on her body, “Nia…”

A clawed finger was placed on the woman’s lips, as Nia looked directly in her eyes. The way she said her name made her heart skip a beat but she had to come clean, “I… I don’t wanna hear some grand confession right now, cause I’m not sure I’d believe it, but…” she didn’t see anything waver in those light brown eyes, no change from a moment ago, they were still intense, and they still made her shiver. “But this… can we have this… for now?”

Pale, ungloved, hands rose and cupped around Nia’s ears, pressing harder than she did before but not aggressively, not meanly, instead in a way that still sent a shiver down Nia’s spine as the woman’s warm hands kept moving, through her hair, along her neck and cupped her face, bringing it close to her own, so Nia could feel the heat there, the Ardanian warmth radiating off of the woman. She looked into her eyes, those intense light brown eyes directly into Nia’s gold ones, and she understood. Morag hadn’t expected this to happen, for these feelings to **_ever_** come out, already it was more than she could ask for, hope for, as a soldier, as an Imperial Representative, as someone that tried so hard to never lose a moment of control.

But that was exactly what she was allowing, for this one moment… because it was already said, already out there, and while she had already said to ignore it… she was willing to allow Nia to do with it what she desired.

Holding Nia close, Morag spoke directly to her lips, “Anything you want…” and kissed her with the same kind of passion as that first unexpected kiss, mixed with this new heat.

Nia melted, and did not care about who found them in the morning. By the end of this she was going to certainly have sweet dreams and sleep well tonight.

\-----

 Outside the door, Brighid, the beautiful azure flame Blade, royal treasure of the Empire, sat on the ground scratching Dromarch on the chest as the old seeming big white tiger of a Blade rolled on his back, grinning.

Neither of them had said a word to one another, but shared a smirk as they seemed to ‘understand’ what was probably going on between their Drivers.

Mythra wouldn’t try to sneak back into the girls’ room until dawn so they had plenty of time to simply relax…

And plot how best to tease their Drivers to no end about this new development.

But for now, relaxation and scratches.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what started as Broship just evolved, particularly thanks to the end of Chap 5...
> 
> still, such a great game~


	2. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of the Hero's Chamber in Elpys, Morag has a few things weighing on her mind...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for chap... 6? i think its 6, but yes, Spirit Crucible Elpys or whatever its called... i actually liked this dungeon, and the scene mentioned...
> 
> it just triggered my Yuri-Fangirl-Reaction, i had to process this... DON'T TRY TO SWAY ME WITH PLOT GAME!! *shakes fist* ahem, i mean... 
> 
> welp, these took took up another day of my '100 Days' challenge, so much for non-fanfic writing~
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Edit: Thanks to Blax its chapter 7! this is what happens when you get title cards at the end of chapter! things get confused!

Feelings

After what happened in Elpys, Rex adamantly turned around, heading out and intent to tell the others what he had discovered. After so many reveals and discoveries it was understandable that the mood was somewhat muted as they walked along the long bridge out of the Hero’s chamber.

Zeke had part of Pandoria’s core crystal inserted into his heart to save his life.

Tora and Poppi were more useful than any of them realized, as Poppi’s ether furnace proved more and more useful, especially here where everyone else was either hampered by the ether draining particles or exhausted.

Nia was a Blade, and not just any kind of Blade but a Flesh-Eater, one that had been infused with mortal cells, somehow bound to them, making her something between a Gormotti and a Blade. From her story it sounded like she didn’t even have a Driver, both her ‘sister’ and ‘father’ dead, and they would have been the only ones that might have been it. It must have been a unique feature to Flesh-Eaters they hadn’t previously known about.

- _So much about them is unknown_ \- Ran through Morag’s thoughts, as she idly walked at the back of the party, keeping up the rear supposedly while Tora and Rex covered the front. Zeke was in a weakened state but Nia looked completely drained, the sooner they left the better.

Light brown eyes stared at the Gormotti woman, now in her ‘Driver’ form as she lightly explained, a state she and the other Flesh-Eaters from Torna showed to take when they weren’t using their own Blade abilities but channeling other Blades. So much about them didn’t make sense or turned general conventions on their heads. Normal Blades couldn’t, or just didn’t, have the capacity to have other Blades. At least, that was what was thought…

The infused mortal cells apparently allowed for autonomy and other _mortal_ abilities… but damaged the Blade’s in their capacity to function as perfect Immortal weapons? Morag wasn’t sure what the true definitions were about them, just that they were an ancient and now forbidden practice attempted by Judicium to make a ‘stronger Blade’, likely with hopes of copying or recreating the Aegis.

Failed experiments all around.

But Nia was a relatively recently made one…

Morag could assume, guess really, what may have happened by what she told them about her ‘family’. She didn’t want to, her mind was just used to filling in the gaps people didn’t openly say, and no matter which way she looked at it; it was tragic.

It explained a lot; her defensiveness, her fear, her general tendency to not approach and distance herself from others… even her selflessness. It all stemmed from her fear of what she was and being discovered battling with a Blade’s innate nature to help its Driver, even if there really was no Driver.

- _What a perilous existence…_ \- Morag ignored how her hands tightened behind her back, or that her eyes lingered a bit longer on their Gormotti teammate.

It explained how she saved Niall, no normal person, even channeling a Blade’s power, could have brought him back from the dead. Nia was strong, that was no doubt, even using her abilities on her own… but…

Light brown eyes trailed to the boy in blue leading their party.

Through a Driver her abilities were even stronger. One she trusted… loved… was even better…

Her eyes trailed the ground, it was a foolish notion, they had more important things to worry about…

“Lady Morag?” the ever calm voice of her Blade, Brighid, spoke at her side. Despite always seeming to have her eyes closed, the blue flame Blade was always perceptive, particularly with her Driver.

“Hmm?” it wasn’t worth hiding anything from the keen eyed Blade, Morag had learned that years ago, not that she had to openly admit anything either.

Brighid paused, bringing one indigo gloved hand up to her chin, supporting it with the other and tilting her head, “You’ve got that look on your face…”

“Oh?” Morag paused as well, half turning to her Blade, showing the respect of paying attention to her while also keeping an eye on the others walking ahead, “And what look would that be?”

A kind of gentle smile passed on the tall demure woman’s face. If anyone else saw it, they’d say it was sweet.

Morag knew from experience the kind of trouble that smile could cause, “Now-Wait, don’t you-?!”

“Oh Dromarch, I have something I wish to speak with you about!” despite its lack of broad outward sound, in the quiet of the caves Brighid’s seemingly innocent voice was easy to pick up on.

Most of the party at the very least turned to acknowledge it happened.

Rex, Tora and Poppi gave it a glance and brushed it off. Pandoria and Zeke at least shrugged.

Nia and Dromarch stopped and fully turned around.

Morag couldn’t help but pause stiffly, having her hand out in a poor attempt to halt her Blade’s action, but Brighid just moved along like nothing happened, sliding up to the large white tiger Blade easily.

There may have been a look, Morag swore there was a _look_ , shared between the two.

“Oh, hmm?” Dromarch’s tail rose a bit, clearly amused by _something_ , as he started walking, “Yes please, ask anything you wish, Brighid.” If there was skip in his step Morag swore she was seeing things, “Ah, yes,” then he turned back over his shoulder, “Morag, would you mind attending to my lady? This entire adventure has been taxing on her, to say the least…”

“O-of course,” Morag threw together an inspection ready stance, nodding curtly, and looking towards her charge. She could tell by the way the Gormotti woman’s ears twitched she was glaring something fierce at her tiger like Blade.

A hand went to cover Brighid’s mouth as the tip of Dromarch’s tail seemed to twitch this way and that, as the two Blades left their Drivers alone, and virtually abandoned.

Light brown eyes glared through the metal visor of her cap as Morag quickly strode up to Nia’s side, the Gormotti woman looking at their Blades just as flatly.

She rubbed her face in that catlike way, “Do those two think they’re being subtle or something?”

The Imperial Inquisitor stood stiffly beside her companion, speaking dryly as her eyes were firmly on the smirking face of her Blade, “At this point, I’ve no idea what goes on in the mind of Blades…”

It was only after she said it that she remembered who she was talking to.

With her arms crossed and ears flat, Nia was looking at the ground.

Immediately, Morag felt the need to backpedal, “That is-that wasn’t what-!!” with a deep sigh she pressed her fingers to her eyes, “That was insensitive of me, I did not think…”

“Heh,” Nia’s ear twitched and a funny little smirk appeared on her face, “Now that I clearly doubt…” again with the nervous facerub, “It’s… a bit of something to get used to, yea? I’m not expecting you guys to get it immediately… it’s… different…” when she looked up at Morag, there was an exhausted acceptance in her gold eyes.

“Nia, I…” the words started before Morag even knew what they were, her hand was out reaching for her cheek before there was even a thought. All it took was Morag to glance, notice the gloves on her hands, the white mark on Nia’s cheek close to her hand, for her to stop, closing her hand and withdrawing. Then forced herself to turn, to look away, because she wasn’t supposed to…

She missed the surprise in Nia’s eyes, how wide they’d gotten and the small blush that formed on her cheeks and how much she was expecting that contact. Then Morag caught herself and pulled away, and Nia’s ears dropped, a funny pained smile playing at her lips, “Heh, you always start out so strong and passionate, eh, Morag?” she leaned back, crossing her arms, not sure what to do about this situation.

“I’m sorry, I’ve overstepped myself,” and back went that hand, clutched behind the Inquisitor’s back along with the other.

Nia’s ears dropped as she looked up to the woman, “Ey? C’mon, I’m the one that should be apologizin’!”

There was only a sharp look from beneath that visor.

It made the Gormotti woman shiver, backing away a step, “Er… right…” unconsciously she rubbed the upper part of her arms, “I’m sorry, Morag… for everything that… for all of it.” gold eyes trailed the ground, following the long stone bridge to the backs of the others still walking away.

To Rex.

When she glanced back, she realized Morag had followed her line of sight as well. It made her heart clinch, guilt welling up inside her as she turned to the taller woman, intent to say _something_ that would make this wall right.

“You can’t argue with what your heart wants,” Morag, the Imperial Inquisitor, of _all people_ said that without batting an eye or even glancing back at Nia. Then started just as clippedly walking forward to catch up with the rest.

It felt like a lance just went through her chest. Heck, if Wulfric was here he’d probably compliment Morag on her Steller aim.

Before she knew what she was doing, Nia marched up to the Ardainian woman, grabbed her arm and pulled her around, “Ey! That’s not at all what I meant!” she didn’t notice how loud her voice was, or the look on her face, she just kept her gaze on the blank gaze that Morag kept on hers. It was infuriating, “I didn’t… we didn’t… I just did what I thought was right, and what I said? Yea, its true, and just cause it hurts don’t mean you can just shut me out like that!” she held her hand, that strong, warm even through her glove, hand as Nia just shook her head, closing her eyes to stop them from itching so damn much, “I thought I was over it, that I’d accepted that it wasn’t gonna… but in that moment I just didn’t think and-and-!!”

There was something warm on her cheek and Nia opened her eyes. Morag was crouched in front of her, at her eye level and had her non-captive hand out, rubbing along the white marks on Nia’s cheek.

There was that look again, that one she walked into her room with back on their boat to Tantal, the surprisingly perceptive and emotional look that Nia was surprised to ever find on the likes of Morag.

Without thinking, Nia held the Ardainian woman’s captive hand a bit tighter, “How can you still look at me like that, huh?”

A bit of a sad look passed over the taller woman’s face, even if she was smiling, “I already told you the answer to that…” she wiped away a tear before letting go, standing up and intent to continue on before her own mask cracked any further.

But Nia didn’t let go of her hand, if anything she held the Inquisitor in place, while she stared at the ground, ears flat on her head, “It’s not fair, yea,” this time her nervous habit helped wipe away the stray tears that she didn’t want to fall, “Who I really am, _what_ I really am? It’s not right… especially with how I feel…” Nia squeezed Morag’s hand tighter, hopping she’d at the very least turn back to her, “Please, I don’t want you to feel like I do…”

“I already said, I never intended to let those feelings out.”

For what it was worth, if Nia had a tail like Dromarch’s it’d be standing straight up and puffed out, the best she could do was whip her head up and glare at the taller woman, “How the bloody hell can you just **_do_** that?!”

Morag just stared back at her a bit confused.

There was a growl as Nia stomped her foot and waved her fist that wasn’t holding Morag’s hand, “ _That!!_ That right there!!” she pointed right at the Inquisitor’s face, “How the hell do you manage to do that?! I rightly put my damn foot in my mouth and instead of acting the way you’re supposed to, you say the one damn thing that not only agrees with me but turns it all right around that I can’t help but-!!” suddenly Nia stopped, face flushing as she slowly put her arm down.

A dark brow rose behind the Inquisitor’s visor, “But what?”

With a shake of her head, Nia wiped away the stumped look on her face and glared at the Ardainian woman, “I oughta hate you! Despise you! Hell I thought I did when we first met!” each sentence was accented by a point and the further she went, the more frantic Nia seemed to get and the colder Morag did. When Nia saw that, the look in her eye becoming flat and apathetic, the face of the Imperial Inquisitor setting itself right in place as she could see Morag just burying her feelings further, she couldn’t help but stop and sigh, “Damnit, you make it so bloody hard…” taking two steps forward she just placed her head on the taller woman’s chest, “I should hate you… but you make it bloody impossible not to love you…”

Hesitantly, tentatively, Morag finally raised her free hand and pet Nia’s head, stroking along her ears.

“Can’t I just… love you both?”

Despite herself a bit of a humorless laugh escaped Morag, “Well, Rex did mention he loved all his friends…”

There was a light punch into the Inquisitor’s stomach, “Thas not funny and you know it,” she could feel Morag shrug and didn’t have the courage to look up at her, “You know what I meant…”

“Indeed, I did,” Morag’s voice was soft, trying hard to not let loose what hearing that statement felt like in the heat of the moment, “Though it seems he did not…” was it alright that part of her was mad about that? Not that Rex accepted Nia’s feelings but that he didn’t understand at all the depths the Gormotti Blade had meant?

There was a deep sigh as Nia nuzzled further into the woman’s chest, “I know I’ve lost, but some part of me just won’t let it go…”

“He is your Driver after all…” it was clinical how she said it, not sarcastic like Nia would have expected.

That revelation forced her to look up, to see the look on Morag’s face, only for her to frown, “He’s not my Driver…”

Morag’s hand slipped down from her ears, cupping the side of her cheek as a wry smile rose on the Ardainian woman’s lips, “You let him use your weapon, synced with him fairly quickly, and you trust and care for him fairly deeply, I’d say he’s your Driver.”

The frown just increased on Nia’s face, as she pushed away in a bit of a huff, “I’m sorry I didn’t pick you, it was the heat of the moment! And he was protecting me, and I protected him, and-and-and-!!”

There was a light chuckle, causing Nia’s ears to perk right up, as she opened her gold eyes and found it was from Morag. She was smiling, something sincere, “I’m glad you chose him to be your Driver,” she put her hands back behind her back, looking off to the side a bit, “I’m not exactly the healing and nurturing type, after all.”

“Morag, I…” Nia had her hand out, grabbing a piece of fabric from Morag’s arm.

Again that oddly sincere look as she turned to the Gormotti Blade, “How could I best protect you, if you were my blade?” facing ahead, “This way you can keep watching my back, using your Driver to improve your Arts, and Brighid and I can do what we do best; protect those we care about.”

For a moment Nia was stunned, watching the woman continue forward. In a roundabout way, she _was_ right. Next to Tora, Morag was their tank, she could take more damage than the rest of them thanks to Brighid and her other Blades, and with Ageneon she could dodge right out of any enemy attack. She just wasn’t suited to healing like she was, as a Blade and as a Driver.

But that wasn’t what really got to Nia, it was the damn woman’s selflessness. Even now, when she had every right to be selfish and angry… the worst she did was just soak up the damage or dodge it flawlessly.

It was after about two or three steps that something slammed into Morag’s back, and if she weren’t as sturdy a person as she was, she would have fallen over flat. Looking down she saw clawed hands and the sleeves of Nia’s yellow jumper. Glancing over her shoulder she couldn’t _quite_ see her but caught that cream colored grey of her ears. Then there was the nuzzling into the small of her back, only Nia would do that.

“You damn selfless Ardanian hothead…” Nia all but growled into the back of her military jacket.

Morag just gave that sincere smile, and placed her hand over Nia’s on her stomach. It was the best she could do, probably the best she could hope for right now. – _Even if I never expected anything to begin with…_ -

With a final squeeze, Morag tried to move forward, “We’d best go, the others might get weird ideas seeing us like this…”

“Shut it,” Nia just grumbled, “Gimme another moment or two…”

\-----

At the other end of the bridge, Brighid and Dromarch were watching the whole moment unfold.

Brighid could only sigh, knowing how fragile her Driver could be at times.

“Lady Morag seems quite adept at handling my Lady’s moods,” the big white tiger chuckled to himself amused.

“You think?” Brighid smiled at him, “I think she’s stumbling on just the same…”

“Hmhm,” Dromarch chuckled in his chest, “Considering all that happened, this isn’t a bad outcome.”

A slight frown picked at the Flamebringer’s face, as Brighid crossed her arms, “I think it could turn out better…”

When Brighid turned to Dromarch the big tiger was just smiling like he knew something she didn’t, “My Lady has always been the cautious type, so this is quite astounding!”

Brighid just gave him a funny look, but conceded that they may just need more time. After all, everything was still fresh and new, and open wounds hurt worse than ones that had time to heal.

“Hey, are those two still lollygagging behind?” Zeke popped up to the two Blades, hands on his hips and trying to look more confident then he clearly was capable of right now, “I’d expect it from that fuzzy-ears, but not so much Morag!”

Brighid and Dromarch gave him a look, shared one between themselves, and noticed Pandoria face palming behind her Driver.

An indigo gloved hand went through flaming blue hair, “Honestly, some Drivers just never notice a thing…”

The white tiger just licked his paw and wiped his face, “Truly, a paradox for the ages…”

“What?!” Zeke looked from one Blade to the other, confused.

“Oh my Prince,” Pandoria shook her head before turning to pass on info to Tora, Poppi and Rex, “You just never learn…”

“Wait! Pandy?!” Zeke went after his Blade, “What’s that supposed to mean?! PANDY?!”

Brighid and Dromarch chuckled amongst themselves, only stopping when they turned and saw the very stern looking face of Morag.

“You two look like you’ve been plotting something,” there was a particular glare from the Inquisitor towards her own Blade.

Brighid just smiled, comfortably crossing her arms, “We were having a fascinating discussion about the architecture in this cave…” she waved her hand around them, as if that was what they were truly talking about.

Dromarch just nodded in agreement, “Yes, being a structure that’s at least 500 years old, it’s held up amazingly well despite-!!”

“Shut it,” Nia popped up behind Morag, flatly glaring at her Blade before finally letting go of Morag and moving to him, climbing on top of the big tiger and just laying out flat, “Take me outta here Dromarch, it’s exhausting…”

There was a long-suffering sigh from the white tiger, “Yes my Lady,” he nodded to the other two before turning off to join the others.

Once the two felines were gone, Brighid just turned to her Driver with a knowing smile…

“Shut it,” Morag said clippedly and moved ahead before her Blade could get a word in.

Not that it stopped Brighid from lightly laughing behind her lady’s back, “My, my, already rubbing off on you, I see…”

At best that got a glare from Morag, knowing too well just how much Brighid could dig if she were truly inclined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hadn't intended this to be multi-chap, but this ship is apparently sailing circles around my brain as i play the game, if i get more ideas, i'll just put them here~
> 
> hope you guys enjoy!


	3. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While wondering around the snowy drifts of Tantal, helping folks out with an odd monster hunt here or there...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so this is probably my FAVORITE side quest the game has thrown at me so far, the one dealing with the writer in Tantal. I can't remember the dialogue one hundred percent, as in game for me i did this before going to Elpys (along with a lot of other things) and originally i hadn't expected much out of the quest besides a few fetch things...
> 
> But apparently, since i was playing with Morag as my primary, i got some INTERESTING dialogue add ins, as my brother played this as well... with Rex... and didn't get the same dialogue pop ups... i have to say, at first i was just letting the Yuri run wild and free when some woman runs up to Morag and says 'Handsome Gentleman', Zeke was in party and kept responding like she meant him, with a few snide bits from Nia... then the ending rolled around and... well... Morag, you cheeky git :D
> 
> i had to, if i'm succumbing to this to get it out and help with my '100 Days' prompt i might as well go all in with any idea that pops up right?
> 
> ENJOY!!

Flowers

While out wondering the frozen wastes of Tantal… for some reason…

Rex and company had just dispatched a group of monsters that had been strangely crowding around a patch of dirt.

“Are these the monsters we were looking for?” the young Salvager scratched his head.

Zeke and Pandoria just shrugged in unison.

“Tora think all monsters look alike at this point,” the young Nopon engineer said, rubbing his head with one of his wings, “Urgh, give Tora big headache…”

“That cause Masterpon decide best way to deal with monsters is to get gobbled up in mouth,” Poppi flatly added, much to her Driver’s detriment and his whining of ‘Meh’ as a response.

Morag just rubbed along her brow, trying to not seem too… _annoyed_ was a good word, before walking towards the patch of dirt the monsters had been fiercely guarding. Nia was crouched down by it, digging something up with Dromarch next to her, “Anything of interest?”

Those cream colored grey Gormotti ears of hers popped up, turning around to spot Morag before turning back and grabbing something. Suddenly she jumped to her feet, grinning wide, showing her fangs and held out her hands, “Seems they were guarding or were attracted to this flower, pretty ey?”

Light brown eyes lowered to the offered item, pushing down any meddlesome thoughts that may have sprung up, “Indeed, it is a fairly beautiful piece…”

“Well, go on then,” Nia pushed it closer to Morag, causing the Inquisitor to stumble back a bit surprised. The Gormotti driver just cheekily looked the Ardainian woman over, waving the flower at her, “Take it! I’m sure it’d look good on you!”

Morag literally had no words for that, or a defense prepared to respond, so the only option left for her was to take the flower. Delicately she held it in her hand and looked down at it, red she hoped her visor covered rushing to her cheeks, “T-thank you, Nia.”

The shorter woman just seemed to give a cheeky smile, squeezing Morag’s arm a second before running off after the others, making sure they were fine. Tora seemed to have gotten picked up by a Volff again so the boys were already attacking a pack of them…

Brighid came up behind her Driver, an amused look on her face that Morag didn’t seem to notice as the Imperial Inquisitor was stuck staring at the flower in her hand. There was a light chuckle from the Flamebringer, snapping her Driver out of her thoughts, “It might not be that serious of a threat, but we might want to go help them…” Brighid leaned over enough to look at the flower, just long enough to make her Driver uncomfortable, “Unless there’s something more pressing on your mind?”

A scowl passed Morag’s face as she roughly handed the flower to Brighid, pulling out her twin rapier-whips, “Come on, no time to waste!” Tora was likely being used as a chew toy by now but it wasn’t like she couldn’t at least protect the others while they took the damn things out!

Brighid just smirked, following her Driver while holding the delicate flower…

\-----

Clearing out the Volffs, and a few other things Morag may have charged after without thinking, Nia rushing in to heal her and the boys charging in after them, the gang was taking a breather near the base of the large pillars that held the ancient ruins of Tantal.

Suddenly there was crunching of snow behind them, and the gang had all of a second to look before a person came charging right at Morag.

“OH MY HERO!!” it seemed to be a young Tantalese woman… who just glomped Morag, wrapping her arms around the taller woman.

To her credit, Morag didn’t so much as move an inch at the impact, her swords were out and she was prepped for another encounter… just not one of this form. Taking a moment to realize what was happening she looked down and notice the brunette around her waist. The best she could do as a response was blink.

“Ey!” Nia jumped up, rushing over to the two, “What you doin’?! Jumping at someone outta the blue like that!!”

“Huh?” the Tantalese woman seemed to look at Nia, stare a moment, then look up, blush, then warp three feet away, “Oh my goodness!! I’m so sorry!! I was just so grateful to have such a handsome gentleman come to my rescue!!” a weird starry-eyed look came over the woman’s face.

“Handsome?” Nia cocked her head, looking at the woman like she was daft.

“Gentleman?” even Rex started scratching his head, not sure what to make of this situation.

“Mehmeh?!” both Poppi and Tora just wiggled around just as confused.

Thankfully they had Zeke, who seemed oblivious to what just happened, jump to the Tantalese woman’s side, holding her hand and posing, “Yes! We are quite the handsome band of heroes now aren’t we!!”

Again that starry-eyed look passed over the woman’s face as she glanced from Zeke to Morag, even to Rex, and back a few times, finally settling on Morag, “Oh this is the best! Thank the Architect!!” then pulled out a notepad and started vigorously writing.

The group seemed to give each other odd looks before approaching the woman again.

“So, ey, what you doin’ this far out of town?” Nia found her voice first, glancing from the Tantalese woman then to Morag, trying to get the Inquisitor’s take on all this.

Morag was being oddly tightlipped, not that it was easy to see the small frown on her face.

“Oh, uh, one second, I need to get this out…” furious writing was had before the woman so much as looked back up at them, a satisfied smile on her face, “Oh, that was great!” she opened her eyes and looked right at Morag, “So, I’m a writer, and I came out here looking for inspiration! I was looking for this rare beautiful flower when I got chased off by monsters, and I’d sort of been stuck here since…” suddenly she went all dramatic, hand to her forehead and sighing, “I had thought I would be lost among the snow drifts, never to be seen or spoken of again,” she warped over to Morag, taking the Inquisitor’s hand, “When suddenly, out of nowhere, a handsome gentleman came by to save me!”

The starry-eyed look had both Nia and Morag facing the woman flatly.

Zeke, for whatever reason was back to doing his own dramatic poses, “But of course! Wherever a young maiden is in trouble, the mighty ZEKEINATOR!! Will be there to rescue her!!”

Those flat stares moved to look at him.

“Oh Prince,” Pandoria just sighed long-sufferingly.

Flat gold eyes turned from the Shellhead back to the writer, “Right, so now that we took care of the monsters, you wouldn’t happen to be able to get back to town on yer own now, ey?”

“Hmm?” the woman seemed to blink, snapping out of something, before looking at Nia, “Oh, yes! Yes I should be able to…” then she sighed dramatically, “But if only I could have gotten that flower, even just to see its beauty! How much inspiration I would be able to grasp from its rainbow petals!”

The team just ignored the dramatic play for the moment, Morag turning back to Brighid, “Do you still have that flower?”

“You mean this one?” the blue flame Blade pulled out the flower form earlier. It wasn’t exactly ‘rainbow petals’ but it was a pretty thing, and had been guarded by monsters.

“The same,” when Morag held out her hand her Blade handed it back to her. For a moment the Inquisitor held the flower looking at it, giving a small side glance to Nia who seemed to just shrug, before presenting it to the author, “Perchance, is this the flower you were seeking?”

The second the Tantalese woman’s eyes caught sight of the flower they lit up, starrier than before, as her gaze jumped between Morag’s face and the outstretched flower in her hand. There was some manner of squeal before her notepad was out and she was furiously writing again, “This is PERFECT!! Not only the beauty of the flower to inspire me, but being handed to by a Handsome Gentleman!! Oh the juices are flowing now!!”

Nia made a face questioning the woman’s sanity, and choice of words, “Ooookay, got your flower then, off back to town with you, yea?” she waved her hand, really wanting to be done with this woman. She was giving her the creeps, making the hair on her ears stand on end, and with how uncomfortable she was making Morag… well, best to just be done with it!

“Hmm? Yes, yes!!” she swiped the flower from Morag’s hand before looking them all over again, “Hey, I’m staying at Anastasia’s, if you’re in town again, mind helping me out some more!! I feel like with real life inspiration like you guys I could REALLY get my juices flowing and get a great story out of this!! Maybe even a novel!!”

Everyone’s shoulders dropped, knowing it’d be impossible to not run into her again. They waved, unenthusiastically, as she ran off without a response.

“Well,” Rex ran a hand through his hair, “Guess it won’t hurt much helping her out if we run into her again.”

“Hm,” Morag just seemed to hum to herself, taking off in any direction that wasn’t directly back to town at the moment.

Nia couldn’t help but grin, running after her, bumping the taller woman with her elbow, “Ey, c’mon, you get to be the _Handsome_ Gentleman!! Don’tcha like it?”

The Imperial Inquisitor didn’t even respond to the bait, just flatly glaring ahead.

“Now see here!!” Zeke ran up after the two with his big sword in hand, “Clearly she was referring to me! The dashing, suave, electrifying Hero of Tantal!!”

Nia just flatly stared back at him, “Yea, right Shellhead, not like she wasn’t looking right at Morag, or rubbing all up on ‘er or anythin’…”

Rex just shrugged, following after them along with Tora who was complaining via ‘Meh’s about how he should be the great Handsome Gentleman.

\-----

It was no surprise that when they returned to town, intent to turn in for the night at the Inn Anastasia’s, that they ran into the writer woman.

Her excitement and exuberance truly knew no bounds, and the group that weren’t from Tantal were starting to wonder if it was just a trait of the younger Tantalese, since Zeke seemed to be acting just as weirdly as the woman.

She ranted off at them, namely Morag, about how great this inspiration was, and requested they go kill a certain monster and come back, telling her the tale, as the idea of a ‘Handsome Gentleman’, among other creative names nonetoosubtely aimed at the Imperial Inquisitor, fighting a great beast would surely inspire her more.

The monster was fairly weak and easy to find, providing little difficulty for the likes of them but with that over and done with they marched back to the woman to tell her about it.

Nia was honestly surprised when Morag gave the woman a _HEAVILY_ exaggerated version of what happened. Straight faced and everything.

When the Imperial Inquisitor, without moving a muscle on her face, mentioned, “And then we slew the beast with the bursting power of Friendship.” Nia realized she was being snarky. Deadpan snarky, but this was probably the only way Morag figured out she could get back at the woman for not only _wasting their time!_ But also seemingly repeatedly calling her a _Handsome Gentleman_ … among other things… and still being somewhat ‘polite’ about it.

Too bad the embellishment seemed to be lost on the writer, as she just went about jotting everything down in that notebook of hers, exclaiming how **_great_** this story was…

Nia couldn’t tell which annoyed Morag more, that the woman didn’t realize she was being lied to or that she didn’t understand it was an insult.

Either way, the Gormotti woman couldn’t help but laugh into her hand about it.

\-----

The next time they ran into the woman, again after spending the day fighting monsters to help other random strangers around Tantal, and putting up with Zeke’s antics, she cornered them at Anastasia’s with another request. Specifically Morag.

This time she was requesting they go find a ring she lost. Literally, she mentioned where she lost it and specifically told them it held no real innate value…

“But that’s not the point!!” she spoke excitedly, “I want you guys to pretend its extra special, like a sacred item you’re all seeking on your quest, and I want you to tell me all about your trials and tribulations at finding it!! And how it weighs down on your minds, as it’s your goal!” she waved her hand, “Or something like that, get creative!” then pat Morag’s arm.

Nia just put her head in her hand and shook it. How the woman, named Mesulia she informed them repeatedly despite Nia simply ignoring this to call her ‘that damn writer woman’ in her mind, couldn’t see that Morag was inches away from tossing her out the nearest window was anyone’s guess.

Then again, Zeke still seemed to think she was talking about him, so… it might have just been a Tantalese thing.

They found the ring exactly where she told them, not even that far away from where they’d originally found her.

“Boy,” Nia looked on as Morag held the damn thing in the middle of her gloved hand, “That _sure_ was quite a quest, ey? Real trouble on our ‘eads an’ all that…” she crossed her arms, frowning as she tilted he head, “So epic, so powerful…” with a yawn she rolled her eyes.

“Here, take it,” swiftly Morag held out her hand, not even looking as she dropped it in Nia’s general vicinity.

“Ey!!” the Gormotti woman scrambled to catch it, not expecting such a thing. She gave a sigh of relief when it was between her clawed hands before sending a wry look over to their team tank, “What? Don’t want to take care of it and hand it to her yourself?”

“I think Lady Morag may crush it on the way back if this mission takes any longer then absolutely necessary,” Brighid had walked up behind the two, taking Morag’s place as the Imperial Inquisitor stomped off back towards town.

Glancing up, Nia noticed the wry smile on the blue flame Blade, unconsciously shivering at its implication, “Er, yea, suppose that’s true… has been a bit of a strain on her, yea?”

Brighid just looked, well ‘faced’, Nia, that odd smirk of hers growing before she went after her Driver.

That just confused the heck out of the Gormotti woman, “Ey?”

Dromarch merely waved his tail behind her, “is something amiss my Lady?”

One of Nia’s ears twitched, “No, don’t think so?” she looked at the piece of metal in her hand, “Though Morag just gave me a ring and Brighid gave me a look that makes this all feel a tad bit awkward…” rightfully, a shiver ran up and down her spine.

\-----

Again they spoke to Mesulia, and again she was way too damn excited.

“My dreamy dapperling! Your presence alone transforms that cheap knock-off ring into a cherished treasure!” the stars certainly would not leave this woman’s eyes.

Nia and Morag stared at the woman flatly, Morag more so as she was being forced to hand the ring to this woman specifically since she wouldn’t accept it from Nia.

Then she asked for details, and again Morag spun a tale that was completely out of fantasy. Though Nia had to hide her laughter at the bit about Zeke and Rex exchanging the ring and vows of ‘Eternal Friendship’ to one another.

- _Sneaky git, those two were shivering like babies not professing manly love for one another!_ \- it took her a second to realize her own thoughts, place them over what _really_ happened and the implications it held. A cherry blush snuck up on Nia.

By the time anyone noticed, Mesulia had scampered off to her room to ‘finish’ her great and mighty novel.

Morag looked over at Nia, who looked to be out of it, “Are you alright, Nia?”

“Hmm?!” shaking her head, the blush, and thoughts, rightfully went away as she turned to the Imperial Inquisitor, “Er, yea, I’m fine!” there was a bit of a squeak to her voice, “You, uh, wanted somethin’ Morag?”

The tall Ardainian woman didn’t even bat an eye, turning heel and heading over to the bar, “I want to get drunk.”

Gold eyes just blink, shrugging, “Well now, that I can help you with!”

And they proceeded to do so… while also preventing Rex from drinking anything, since he was too young, same with Tora they assumed and Poppi just nagging him, and both of them challenged Zeke to see just how quickly he’d end up flat out under the table.

Two drinks was far earlier than either of them expected.

“Ey?! Can’t even handle the booze from his own country? What kind of a man is he?” Nia tapped that Shellhead with her foot, since he somehow fell over face first onto the ground despite his butt remaining in his seat.

“They serve harder stuff in Gormott,” Morag poured out another glass for herself.

“Same in Mor Ardain,” the two women clinked their glasses together and just continued until neither remembered what happened that night.

Considering the looks on Brighid and Dromarch the next morning, as they woke up in the same bed, that was probably for the best…

\-----

“Gentlemen: A Study!”

As Mesulia said the title and premise of her book the look on Morag’s face just became tighter and tighter.

When the Tantalese writer gave a summary about how she wrote it ‘chock full of charming men!’ while staring right at Morag…

Well…

It was a bit painful, really at this point.

Nia couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her fellow woman, “Uh, you okay?” she turned to Morag, noticing that by this point the Imperial Inquisitor was practically vibrating.

Morag didn’t respond, keeping herself in check.

Then the final nail in the coffin dropped.

Mesulia stood up, hands clasped in front of her, smiling brightly with stars in her eyes as she faced her _Handsome Gentleman_ , “Thank you _SOOOO MUCH_ for helping me! I wouldn’t have been able to complete this book without all your help! And thanks to you all helping me, I’m so happy, especially because I got to meet such charming men!”

Which she said while staring _right **at Morag**_ **.**

“Oh, bloody hell…” Nia rightfully shook her head.

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

When the others looked, they found it was Morag, who seemed to have stopped trembling.

Light brown eyes stared sternly in front of her, through the metal of her visor and just bore into the Tantalese woman, “Incidentally, I’m a woman.”

It seemed to take a few seconds for the words to slip into Mesulia’s brain, but when they did…

“WHAAAAAAAT?! You mean…” her eyes were wide and staring Morag up and down disbelieving, mouth agape, utterly shocked. It took another couple of seconds for her to compose herself, “I’m **_SO_** sorry!” she looked the Imperial Inquisitor up and down again, “it was just your clothes that made me think…” she seemed to blink again, deflating with a deep sigh, “Beauty is a fickle thing, isn’t it?”

There were just no words that could be expressed properly about that tactless ending, so Morag just turned heel and walked away.

\----

Sometime later, when they were back in Tantal to help out with another mission, they ran into Mesulia again.

Once again she exuberantly expressed her gratitude to them, though noticeably muted towards Morag, instead shifting her focus more to Zeke and Rex. She explained that her book was a big success, laughing in the face of naysayers that said a book about ‘manly love’ wouldn’t sell when it seemed to be exploding.

Morag left, tired of hearing about the stupid book.

Nia followed her, leaving the boys to gush over how much they ‘helped’ write the thing and inspire the damn writer woman…

Morag was by herself, leaning on the wall near the ruins of the temple Herald blew up or something, Nia hadn’t really been paying attention to the details despite the number of times they’d been through this place.

“Oi, you gonna be alright?” the Gormotti driver bluntly asked the Ardainian woman.

Morag visibly sighed, “I don’t know which is worse, that her story is based off a blatant lie, or that it’s selling so well…”

This brought a smirk to Nia’s face, as she leaned on the wall close enough to Morag to rub shoulders with her. Morag was warm and Nia was cold, that’s all it was! “Yea, well,” she waved her hand, “You know the people reading it aren’t into it for all the manly vows of eternal ‘friendship’, hehe,” she couldn’t help but snicker, amused by the cheesy things Morag came up with trying to destroy that woman’s book.

“Hmp,” despite sounding dismissive, there was a small smile on the Ardainian woman’s face, “Would it hurt sales if people learned it was truly about a woman in a military uniform?”

“An _Ardainian_ military uniform,” Nia wiggled her eyebrows as her gold eyes slyly looked at Morag, waiting for her to turn towards her, “Or that the person she _really_ gave that ring to on the snowy drifts was a _Gormotti_ woman?” her smirk rose, seeing a bit of color pass over the Inquisitor’s cheeks.

Morag wasn’t blushing, in fact she was adamantly telling her body to **_not_** respond to such an obvious taunt!

It clearly was no use as Nia just nuzzled up on her shoulder, putting her cold cheek next to Morag’s warm neck, “Ah… nice and warm…”

Clearly she was far too proud of herself, Morag just rolled her eyes, perhaps slightly amused, “Suppose it’s worth mentioning how it was the Gormotti woman that was the first to hand the Ardainian officer a beautiful rainbow flower on the drifts, after she had saved her from vicious monsters…”

Nia swatted at Morag’s shoulder, trying to wipe that smirk off the Inquisitor’s face, “Ey! You make it sound like I’m some damsel that needs savin’! I can handle myself just fine!”

There was a light laugh from Morag, finding Nia’s defensive look rather adorable, not that she was going to admit that out loud.

“Shut it,” the Gormotti woman growled, resting her head back on the Ardainian soldier’s shoulder.

“I didn’t say a word,” the small sincere smile never left Morag’s face, she didn’t need to see Nia’s glare to know it was there.

“But you’re thinkin’ something, so shut it!” her grip on Morag’s arm tightened as she nestled further into her shoulder.

Honestly, all this fiasco over a stupid flower…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Morag, how are you such a woobie and a badass at the same time? the game really isn't helping~ it just WILL NOT let go of the fact people mistake you for a man will it~ XD
> 
> like i said, i ACTUALLY did this before Elpys... but hey! it can work here as well? if this all wants to be seen as sort of chronological~ doubtful i will but, hey, it works~
> 
> ah, yes, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!! :D (as this is the one i actually wrote for Christma, such shame~)


	4. Mortals and Demi-Gods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in the midst of fighting Malos at the Cliffs of Morytha, everything comes crashing down... literally!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> time to spoil through the beginning of chap 8! well, sorta, just a bit of me abusing the 'and the party got split up' trope for my own nefarious and totally non-canon purposes~ sigh, what ever shall i do game, you just like handing me ammo~
> 
> another day of my '100 Days' prompt dedicated to yuri~ i'm a terrible person, clearly~
> 
> ENJOY!

Mortals and Demi-Gods

_Two giant monsters clashed in the air. One a great serpent, the other a Valkyrie with blades of light. They cut through the air like it were nothing, as if flying were that easy. Explosions and massive beams rained down from both as they continued to clash._

_The ground below them began to quake, then broke apart beneath their feet._

_Morag looked back as the stone she stood on began to fall, one hand habitually grabbing her hat, while the other reached out to whoever was nearby…_

_… a hand with a blue orb on the wrist reached out, but because of the fall they couldn’t quite reach, falling into the abyss below._

“NIA!!” with a gasp Morag shot up, pain running down her left arm as she frantically looked around. The sky was a dark green, there was a massive tornado or water spout in the distance, and everything around her was a dark, metallic rubble the likes of which she’d never seen before.

It felt like her arm might be broken or dislocated, her weapons were nearby and despite the pain in her arm she could still clutch the handle of her rapier-whips.

“Brighid?” it was a futile call, she already knew the blue flame Blade was nowhere in sight. Looking at the rapier-whips, they were still there and she was still alive, so it stood to reason her Blade was somewhere alive.

Standing up Morag sheathed her rapier-whips at her waist, trying to hold her arm in a way that agitated it the least, and started walking. If she was here, Brighid was here, then it stood to reason the others wound up around here as well.

Glancing around the odd stone roads and high buildings she couldn’t help but experience the eerie feeling of being on a battlefield… and a graveyard.

“The City of the Dead, Morytha…” despite herself, she laughed. – _To think such a place actually existed, and I’d be standing in it?_ \- so much for fairy tales, this place was real, and it was just as creepy as she’d imagined it’d ever be.

Walking through the burned out ruin of buildings she came to another area that seemed oddly open. It reminded her of the open bridge just before the palace in Mor Ardain, only bigger. – _Is this some manner of highway?_ \- there was rubble and pieces missing, but it was at least twice the width of the Ardainian bridges and stretched far off into the distance… or at least it did, once.

But that wasn’t the interesting part, a short way down looked to be someone lying flat out on the stone ground… and something approaching them.

- _Damnit!_ \- pulling out one of her rapier-swords, Morag rushed in. The creature seemed to be comprised of black vines in a vaguely humanoid form with a few parts that were glowing blue rock, similar to a core crystal. Even without Brighid she could ignite the blue flame of her rapier-whips, and while not in the best shape with only one, the creature seemed to be fixated on the person on the ground and had no notice of her.

It wasn’t until the last second, as she held her hand out and shot the whip forward, wrapping it around the creature’s neck, that it noticed her. Turning with glowing eyes it let out an uncomfortable screech. Morag yanked her weapon, severing the thing’s head. When it so much as twitched after hitting the ground she set it on fire. If this was one of the creatures of the City of the Dead, normal means to kill it doubtfully were sufficient.

She didn’t look away until she was absolutely positive the thing was gone, burned to ash or disintegrated, in a moment it was completely gone.

Turning around to the person unconscious on the ground, Morag selfishly admitted to herself it was the second person she hoped to find right after Bighid. Long catlike ears, blue orbs dotted throughout her body and an exaggerated kimono like outfit, it could only be Nia in her true Blade form.

Morag kneeled down to look her over the best she could. Ever since they left Elpys Nia had been staying in that form. Morag had no idea if it was because it was easier or because she was trying to show her resolve. Either way it had its benefits, it allowed her to use her abilities to their fullest, like with their last fight with Malos… but even then it still had its limits, as such powers used up considerable amounts of ether.

Sitting down, Morag turned Nia over, bring her head into her lap and checked for any visible damage. She hadn’t returned to her core crystal so she must have been alive and okay, still breathing fine, just knocked out from the fall.

It was a relief, she was alive and okay. – _That’s what matters…_ \- Morag kept her head on a swivel, rapier-whip near her uninjured arm, ready to spring into action should another one of those things show up.

Nia woke sometime later, looking straight up and the first thing she saw was Morag’s stern face looking out into the distance. Without thinking, she raised her hand, touching the side of the stern soldier’s face, smiling when she seemed to jump, those light brown eyes darting right to her.

Morag always seemed so tragically lost for words when they were needed most, her eyes saying a lot more than her gawking mouth ever did.

A smirk played out on Nia’s face as she drew her finger along Morag’s jaw, “How the hell do you always manage to keep that hat of yours?”

It was a dumb observation, one that made Morag unconsciously chuckle as she grabbed Nia’s hand, holding it to her face. It was dumb, but it was so Nia, something that even her more regal Blade appearance apparently couldn’t get rid of, “Force of habit, I suppose…”

“Heh,” chuckling herself, Nia withdrew her hand without much resistance, lying back and looking at what was around them. A swampy dark sky, dead grey buildings, some storm off in the distance, “Where the hell are we? This place certainly looks cheery…”

Morag lowered her own hand, not sure what to do with it so left it at her side as she too looked around, flat scowl making its return to her features, “If I had to guess, the City of the Dead, Morytha…”

“Makes sense, cheery name for a cheery place,” Nia’s long ears tried to pull back as much as possible in her position, as she scowled at nothing in particular, “Place gives me the creeps…”

There was a dry chuckle above the water based Blade, “Be glad you haven’t seen any of the locals yet.”

That caught Nia’s attention, her gold eyes shifting straight to Morag, “Ey? They want to invite you to a party or something?”

“Not quite,” unconsciously, Morag looked towards the spot where that monstrosity had fallen, not even a blood stain or crystal fragment remained, “they seem attracted to the living, but fire kills them swiftly enough…”

“Oh, yea, that’s nice, nothing like a little fire-WHAT?!” Immediately Nia shot up and was looking Morag over, “What the hell!” she so much as touched Morag’s left arm and the Inquisitor gave a pained grunt. At that gold eyes just glared at the woman, “You fought one’a these things, like this!”

“It was… coming after you while you were unconscious…” Morag strained to suppress it, but the pain was obvious on her face, “I got it while it was…sssh… distracted.”

Those gold eyes glared harder, maybe pressing on the clearly painful part of the Inquisitor’s arm.

Morag just tried very hard not to flinch.

“Honestly,” Nia refocused her efforts on Morag’s arm, summoning some of her power, forming a bubble of ether water around the injury, “Just because I can fix anything don’t mean you should go do stupid things like-!!”

“It wasn’t stupid!!” light brown eyes snapped back with a bark, “You were unconscious, I wasn’t going to just-!!”

Nia flicked Morag’s cap off and hit her right between the eyes, staring at her sternly, “Shut it,” then went back to fixing her broken arm, “And it was stupid, just like jumping in front of Malos was stupid!”

“It wasn’t stupid,” in a huff Morag turned as much as she could, very conscious of Nia glaring at her while keeping hold of her arm with ether, and retrieved her hat, “You were down, he would have killed you-!!”

“Yea, and if he’d used that power of destruction he’d used on Shellhead’s sword, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN VAPORIZED!!” Gold eyes glared hard, hurt, emotional, tears on the edges as her long ears were flat.

They glared long and hard at one another, before both turned away.

“I didn’t think…” Morag mumbled.

“Clearly,” Nia growled, “You should have gone after Rex, helped with Jin, left Malos to that shellhead…” her hands held onto Morag’s arm as her ether disappeared, the break healed and any other damage gone, “… should’a just left me.”

A heavily annoyed look passed over the Inquisitor’s face as she replaced her cap, pulling her arm away and standing up, “We should move, in case more of those things show up…”

Nia stood up, looking like she wanted to argue but just gave up, grabbing Morag’s hand, “You’re such a hothead…”

The only response the Ardainian woman had was tugging her cap down.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I could heal anything,” Nia gripped the taller woman’s hand tighter with both of hers, “But I can’t do anything if there’s nothing left…” looking up, there were tears in those gold eyes, hoping she understood, “You’re not… like the rest of us…”

“So I’m weak…” Morag’s shoulders went up, visibly ruffled, even if she knew Nia was right.

“No, that’s not-! Damnit!” the Gormotti Blade wrapped around the woman’s arm, trying to stop her from moving for just a second, “You’re mortal! You’re not like the rest of us!” the tears were now falling, hidden by her bangs and Morag’s arm, “You’re the only one of us that would’a broken something from a drop like that!” absently Nia waved one of her flowy arms up to the dark green sky.

“Heh,” there was a mirthless laugh from the Ardainian, “So Tora isn’t mortal either?”

Nia chanced a glance up at her, ears down, “Weeeell…” unconsciously she nuzzled into Morag’s arm, “Nopon are practically demi-gods, haven’t you ever heard that, can’t kill the lil’ buggers no matter what you try…” a scowl crossed her white marked face, “Just look at Bana…”

Despite herself Morag genuinely laughed at that, before giving a deep sigh and looking up at the sky, “Is this the limits of mortals?”

With a shake of her head, Nia just held her arm closer, “C’mon, you’re able to keep up with me, that shellhead and even the Aegis’ driver.” There was a deep sigh as Nia nuzzled the woman’s arm, “You’re not weak, just stupid.”

“Heh,” another mirthless laugh from Morag, “You forgot demi-gods, a mortal amongst Blade-Eaters, a Flesh-Eater, and demi-gods…” finally she gave in, reach up across her chest and placing her hand on Nia’s before raising it enough to pet her head, turning slightly, “It is rather ridiculous put like that…”

Nia just nuzzled into her hand, unconsciously smiling, “That’s what happens when you’re stupid and reckless,” she opened one gold eye to glare chidingly up at the woman, “Special Imperial Inquisitor Hothead…”

Morag just smiled genuinely, it hurt to hear but Nia was right. They’d already had this conversation, back in Fonsett but still… “I need to see where this journey ends, see if Elysium is real, if…” her gaze dropped, thinking things over before looking around them, “If all the stories really are true…”

“Even if you get hurt, every step of the way?” Nia traced her claw along Morag’s arm, where it had been broken before she healed it.

Morag’s captive hand held hers tighter, despite still looking out into the unknown world around them, “I suppose, _especially_ because of that,” light brown eyes returned to Nia, a gloved hand reaching out to trail along her chin, lifting the Blade’s face to see her own, “That’s something only a mortal can do, correct?”

Nia’s light cream colored brows knotted in the center of her forehead, bringing tears to the edge of her eyes and she had to bite down on her lip, trying not to start blathering, “Damnit…” unable to hide it anymore she rubbed her face along Morag’s sleeve, “Why you always gotta do that,” a sniffle, “Say stupid things like that that are just so right…” she wiped her face, pouting as much as she could despite the red on it before trying to glare at the woman, trying to be mad at her, “You’re daft you know that?”

A small smirk pricked at the edge of the Ardainian woman’s lip, “Clearly I’d have to be if I’m here…”

“And you’re stupid!” Nia hissed at her, sniffling afterwards.

“Obviously,” Morag waved her hand, “I joined a team that dropped a water tower on me…”

Despite herself that actually got a small laugh out of Nia, who was trying very hard to stay mad at the Ardainian, “And you’re bloody reckless!”

“A mortal going hand to hand with an Aegis, twice,” her smirk grew as she glanced at the water type Blade, “I must be…”

Nia glared at that smug look, ignoring as her own smirk was rising, “You’re even more of a hothead _because_ of the reason you charged headlong at an Aegis, twice!”

Morag held up her hand, one finger raised, tutting, “Now, the first time I fought an Aegis was out of duty,” she glanced back, “Now the second…”

“You know bloody well I was talking about Malos!” Nia all but jumped, hissing at the woman, waving her freehand about while still holding her other, “Twice we fought him back there, and twice you come running in not thinking just cause I was-!!”Quickly she shut her own mouth, not wanting to say it out loud. Nia forcibly looked away, red rising on her cheeks, “Honestly, you’re just a foolish human…”

“I can’t help it,” Morag squeezed Nia’s hand, “I saw someone I care about deeply, that I’d promised to protect, in danger and acted without thinking.”

Nia shook their joined hands, looking at them and thinking back on that fight, mad at herself for how much relief she’d felt in that moment, “Yea, well…” she rubbed her face, “Guess that just makes you special…” Nia just leaned over, putting her head on Morag’s shoulder.

Morag just smiled softly, leading them away from the spot at a pace that didn’t hamper their contact.

Eventually Nia just sighed, “Still think you should’a went after Rex…”

It almost sounded like the Imperial Inquisitor snorted, but that was silly, “I’m only mortal, it wasn’t feasible at the time for me to get across the field and help him… besides, he seemed adequately capable on his own…”

Sly golden eyes just looked up at the woman, knowing that was a crock, “Sure, I’ll make sure to tell him next time we see him,” Morag just continued to look forward and Nia knew she’d been caught and just wouldn’t admit it, “By the way,” holding out her freehand Nia summoned her crystal scimitar, “Here, at least with you around, I can give you this, in case we need the strength of both of us to fight those things…”

“I already told you, I don’t need it,” Morag put her hand on her rapier-whips, “I still have Brighid’s weapons, I can still defend you properly…”

“Yea, but without her you can’t use any Arts,” Nia flatly glared at the woman, holding her sword out.

A stubborn pout slid past Morag’s face, “But I’m not your Driver.”

Gold eyes rolled as she tried to push the weapon onto the Ardainian woman, “And neither is Rex,” Nia stared at her long and hard, “He accepts it when I give it to him, so we can fight together, but I’m not a normal Blade, I’m not stuck to one person…” a light blush made its way up Nia’s cheeks as she looked down, “I can choose who to give it to…”

Morag’s gloved hand twitched, rising enough to be level with the blue crystal scimitar, the desire to grasp it written all over her face…

But she couldn’t, not yet.

“No,” she pushed it away, looking away from Nia, “If we need to… then we’ll cross that bridge when it comes, but for now,” her free hand gripped onto one of Brighid’s rapier-whips, “I want to protect you with the strength I have…”

Those long catlike ears twitched, but Nia could see the look on Morag’s face, she sighed, putting her own blade away, “You’re stubborn too, you know that?”

“Just…” Morag started, looking down at the swords on her hip, tapping the handles of them nervously with her free hand, “Just trying to not get… too attached…”

Nia nodded, understanding. She’d lived so long consumed by fear, people she cared about died because of it… and she’d even hurt this woman, whom she cares about deeply as well, because of it. She squeezed Morag’s hand tightly, “I… I don’t know… what happens to Flesh-Eaters when we die… _IF_ we can die, I don’t even know if we can return to our core crystals, but…” she looked at their hands, intertwined, “Mortals only live once, maybe we do too,” gold eyes trailed up, to the Ardainian woman’s face, “But that’s just another reason I don’t want you to get hurt, especially because of me… and this silly quest we’ve found ourselves on…”

“Nia…” light brown eyes stared at her again with all that raw emotion.

“Save it,” the Gormotti Blade held up her hand, shaking her head, “I’ll watch your back, keep you alive, and I know I can’t tell you to **_not_** save me, but could you at least _think_ about what I have to go through healing you all the bloody time!” she frowned with a hurt pout, “Just a _little_ consideration, so I don’t have to wake up hearing how you banged yourself up falling from a cliff and then fighting a monster one handed… _without_ your Blade to help, yea?!”

Morag had her hand raised as if to make a point… then just dropped it, sighing, “I’ll… _try_ … to take into account the fragilities of my mere mortal existence…”

Gold eyes glared, hearing the edge of snark in the Inquisitor’s voice, “That’s the best I can get, init?”

There may have been a pout on Morag’s face, “I can’t very well promise I _won’t_ get hurt, nor think of my safety purely over others…” her free hand reached out, cupping around Nia’s face, thumbing the white mark and both of them calmed significantly with the small contact, as she looked sincerely into those gold eyes, “… especially yours.”

Nia just gave a long drawn out sigh, “I know…” she shook her head, nuzzling further into Morag’s hand, “Just don’t-!!” Nia stopped abruptly, holding back the words as she gazed into those light brown eyes, “Don’t… leave me… so quickly…”

Morag’s thumb trailed along that white line, her eyes fixated on Nia’s as she tried to give a sincere smile and answer to her request. The best she could come up with was leaning down and kissing her right on the lips, passionate enough but soft with sincerity.

As they separated Morag took a step back, not wanting to look back, to see what was there, and Nia stumbled a step forward, eyes darting open and sad to see her walking away.

Nia couldn’t help but pout, “That wasn’t an answer!!” she shouted, taking a moment to settle herself.

“I know!” Morag waved back.

There was a sniff as Nia wiped her face, “Cheeky git,” she wiped the other side, she wasn’t crying, wasn’t going to cry, before shouting back, “YOU OWE ME A PROPER RESPONSE!!” and running back up to the woman’s side before she could even respond, taking her hand and burying her face into the fabric of her sleeve.

Morag just gave a sad smile, raising her other hand to lightly pet Nia’s ears. She had no response to give, not now anyway, and they had more important things to worry about.

They were so close to their goal, to the roots of the World Tree, certainly things were going to get harder before their journey was over.

It wasn’t the time for proper responses.

\-----

It was a few buildings down that they found Tora being chased by some of those creatures. They dispatched them well enough, thankfully Tora still had Poppi’s shield to fight with. Dromarch was nearby as well, so Nia returned to her Driver form, using his weapons to keep an eye on the two tankier members of their group… and use him to ride on again.

As they were walking along another stretch of highway they came across a pillar with two pairs of legs sticking out.

“Well,” Nia was the first to respond, Dromarch pausing as she tapped his fur, “That looks like shellhead and Pandoria’s boots…”

Morag seemed to pause and look at the situation as well, “Seems they’re buried.”

“Mehmeh!!” Tora jumped up and down, “How we get Zeke and Pandoria out of strange situation?”

Both Nia and Morag seemed to share a look, before looking down at Tora…

“Meh? Meh?” Tora hopped back a bit, wings nervously flapping about, “What with looks on friend’s faces…”

“I think it’s time to put that theory to the test,” Morag seemed to get a sinister look on her face, making Tora feel very uncomfortable.

Nia just crossed her arms and looked at the Ardainian woman flatly, “C’mon now, you don’t think I was just blowing hot air, ey?”

“Meh?” was as far as Tora got in any form of protest… before Morag grabbed him by the top of his mohawked head and quickly hurled him right at Zeke and Pandoria’s legs, “MEHMEHMEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!!!”

There was a satisfying **_doink!_** Sound as Tora bounced from Zeke’s legs to Pandoria’s, knocking both of them loose… and for all three of them to fall off the pillar into the area below the highway.

“Good aim, Morag!” Nia just cheekily chuckled.

“Thank you, Nia.” The two stood at the edge a moment and watched as their fallen comrades got back up and started shouting about, looking for a way back up.

“See, I told you, Nopon are demi-gods, can’t hurt the lil’ buggers…” the Gormotti Driver just shook her head as Tora was furiously flapping his wings at Zeke and Pandoria.

“I’ll never doubt it ever again,” the Ardainian Driver just nodded, watching as Pandoria jumped into Zeke’s arms and they were running up a building nearby with an angry Nopon hot on their heels.

Dromarch, sitting behind the two woman looked from one to the other, eyes scanning them scrupulously, “My lady,” he paused, waiting for the two to turn towards him, “Has something happened while I was away…” he seemed to glance specifically at Morag before turning back to Nia, “That you would like to discuss?”

“Ey?” Nia and Morag shared a look before she turned back to her white tiger blade, “Nope, can’t think of a thing, you Morag?”

“Nothing in particular comes to mind,” and the Imperial Inquisitor just turned heel and started walking down the highway.

Nia just shrugged to Dromarch, before tailing after the woman.

Dromarch’s tail flicked this way then that as he watched them attempt to walk away. He may not have been as keen eyed as Brighid, but he knew when something was up.

“NOW SEE HERE!! I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU’RE SO ANGRY AT US!! WE’RE NOT THE ONES THAT THREW YOU!!”

“EEEEEK MY PRINCE!! RUN FASTER!! SAVE US!!”

“MEHMEHMEHMEHMEH!! YOUR FAULT TORA GOT THROWN!! MEHMEHMEHMEH!!”

A dust cloud of yelling and Mehs ran past Dromarch, and when it cleared he couldn’t help but shake his head. These crazy young Drivers and their antics…

Then he looked across the way to where his Lady had been, Zeke and Tora mistakenly running right past them. What was there, was Morag holding her hat with one hand, while the other was outstretched at her side, protectively holding Nia behind her, who looked to be holding onto the woman’s waist for dear life.

It made Dromarch smile, he’d definitely have to tell Brighid about this when they met up with her again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't care what anyone says, i've played since all the way back with Xenogears when they were called Chuchus, Nopon are freakin' Demi-Gods and you can't convince me otherwise~
> 
> why else would a 2ft tall fuzz ball have twice the life of anything else and be able to tank hits better than anyone else, on sheer sizewise it makes no sense, but hey! its hilarious!
> 
> *hurls Nopon for the lolz*
> 
> and... this is just me, but i was being a bit salty with the end of Chap 7... until Nia looks back during her 'my place is here' line, and looks right at the party (Morag, clearly) instead of next to her where Rex was standing, then Morag jumping in like a crazy woman to save Nia (her precious Waifu) and... not really seeming to give a damn about Rex XD i may have been channeling that bias, but hey, its what the game showed me...
> 
> don't try to sell me on this other ship nonsense game, only to show me that stuff... and more so, wtf was Mythra acting like all that development Nia had was her own? just... game, c'mon, make up your mind~


	5. Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elysium awaits, now that everyone is heading back home to assess the damage and discover a new world, what's it going to be like for them to say goodbye for now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a terrible shipper, and i am back...
> 
> spoilers through the end of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, as i FINALLY beat it... cause i was trying to do all the side quests before it was over, which you kind of can't for some, AND get all the Blades...
> 
> FINALLY! MY BAE KOS-MOS ARRIVES!! and was my last one to get, and she was on Nia! :D
> 
> so with little other choice, went and did the end... and HOOBOY!! if you're as much as a Xeno-nerd as i am, THAT WAS SOME HEAVY REVEALS MAN!! but i digress, i'm not gonna go into that, but more this tags right off the end scene, so spoils for that big reveal... but no details on the rest~ i CAN restrain myself~
> 
> prepare for feels~

\----

Fireworks

It was amazing. Watching on Azurda’s back as the Aegis was reborn, both Pyra and Mythra having a body all their own, as if they were normal Blades.

Poppi ran forward, in her base childlike form, and hugged both of them around the neck as they smiled and hugged her right back. The young Artificial Blade doing what the rest were all too stunned to do.

Nia watched, as Pyra looked over Poppi’s shoulder and mouthed the words ‘ _I love you, Rex_ ’ ending with a gentle smile.

The poor boy was stunned, unable to respond.

The Gormotti Flesh-Eater pat him on the back, pushing him forward. Despite everything that had happened he was still such a kid. Nia smiled when he looked back at her, something fragile but genuinely happy. – _Go on, get her, you’ve got her back dummy…_ \- looking over at the two Blades, Nia’s smile got cheeky. – _Both of them, lucky git_ \- she couldn’t bring herself to say the words, even if she was happy to see them both alive and well after what she’d put them through.

- _Didn’t even have a chance to really get sad or mad at them…_ \- she wiped her eyes, swearing she wasn’t tearing up.

Rex had looked back at all of them, surprised, happy, feeling so much with it all showing on his face he had no idea how to express it.

It was a good end, to their journey like this…

They’d found Elysium, the world below the cloud sea had been somewhat restored, the Titans were laying down to rest, becoming part of the new land available to them. They were all alive and well…

It looked like a good start to a whole new world, on Azurda’s back.

They flew by Genbu first, Zeke and Pandoria getting off to check on how Tantal was doing.

Then Gormott, where Tora and Poppi hopped off like little kids, running off to find Tatazo and Lila to figure out what to do next.

“Are you not getting off, Nia?” a voice called up to the Gormotti woman.

Nia turned, seeing Morag seated with Brighid, as they were leaning against Dromarch. All three of them were looking up at her expectantly, it made the Gormotti woman blush nervously.

Reacting impulsively, Nia stomped her foot, “Why would you think I’d want to get off ‘ere!” she crossed her arms, looking away in a huff, “Never wanted to come back to this place to begin with, all the trouble it’s caused!”

“Heh,” Morag gave a small laugh, trying to smile, “I see, of course, that was presumptuous of me…”

Nia just crouched next to Dromarch, drawing circles on Azurda’s back as she watched Gormott shrink as they flew away. She had nothing to say to that, Gormott wasn’t her home, hadn’t been in a long, long time.

“Next stop, Mor Ardain,” Azurda told them, glancing back, clearly addressing Morag.

“Thank you,” the Imperial Inquisitor nodded to the dragon like titan. When he turned back, Morag just stared at the ground in front of her. Momentarily her light brown eyes slid to Nia, something she wanted to ask but didn’t have the courage to put into words.

Brighid, ever aware of her Driver, put her hand on her shoulder, smiling encouragingly.

“Oh maaaaan!!” suddenly Mythra plopped down in the space between Nia and Morag, “It’s gonna be really weird with all you guys gone!” leaning back on Dromarch and cracking one eye open the light type Blade looked from the Gormotti to the Ardainian, “Its already weird with the others gone,” she smiled, bumping shoulders with Morag, surprising the Inquisitor, “Say Hi to your little brother for me, eh?”

Nia, Dromarch, Brighid and Morag were all giving her a weird look.

“What?!” Mythra blinked at them, confused by their looks.

The others shared a look but Nia was the one to finally say something, sitting down flat on Azruda’s back, “Ey? Tryin’a cheer us up, see us off an’ all that?” her ears were back as she cocked her head, referring to the other side of Dromarch, “Not gonna snuggle up with Rex now that you’re all alive and well, after that ruckus you started?”

“That’s awfully straight forward of you, Nia,” Morag commented, looking ahead at the skyline.

Nia barely had the time to frown at the Ardainian woman before a large bountiful cleavage was in her face, surrounded by white Blade armor, “Ey! What the-?!”

Mythra just rubbed the top of Nia’s head as she squeezed the smaller woman tighter to her chest, “I’m going to miss you guys so much!!”

Cream colored grey Gormotti ears lowered, “It’s not like we’re dying, you can still see us… sometime… somewhere…” for some reason her golden eyes glanced around Mythra’s shoulder and caught sight of the stern Inquisitor looking away.

“Yea, but!” Mythra gave another squeeze before letting go of Nia with that cocky smile of hers, “It won’t be the same,” sitting back against Dromarch, Mythra looked up at the sky, smiling lightly, “It’s so… strange, being alone...” her amber eyes watched the new clouds fly by, the strange new sky they had, recalling their journey so far, “It hasn’t truly been that long, since I made Pyra, to guard the seal I slept behind… but she talked to me, constantly, for 500 years in my sleep, and then…” she turned to Nia, smiling, “Then she met Rex, and you, and the rest… and I was just sitting in the back watching…” there was a sigh, “Watching as she grew, grew into her own person from my personality… I had wished I wouldn’t have to wake up, but we all know how that went…”

“Y-yea…” Nia looked away, remembering Vandham and how he tried to save them. How she had been too afraid to save him.

A hand came down on the Gormotti Flesh-eater’s shoulder, and Mythra sincerely smiled at her, “What I’m trying to say is, I’m glad I met you,” she turned to look at Morag and Brighid, smirking at them, “All of you,” then she leaned back, “same with the others, Tora, Poppi, Zeke and Pandoria, and everyone else in this time, and I want to see you guys again, so we can tell each other new stories…” she held her hands out together in front of her, “And maybe we’ll laugh, and maybe things will be different, and maybe there will be new things from this new world…” Mythra gave a long sigh, “I think Addam would have liked that…”

“You still miss him?” Morag proposed, watching the light type Blade, “You’re previous Driver…”

“Yep,” the smile Mythra gave was small and fragile, “I knew him, Pyra didn’t, and… and I think that’s why it’s easier for her…”

“You loved him.” Nia spoke softly, starting to understand the differences between the two personalities of the Aegis a bit more.

Mythra’s smile grew, closing her eyes and wiping the side of her eye, “I think I did,” she turned to look Nia in the eye, “You can stay with us if you want, I mean, I can’t say it’ll be easy with those two,” the blonde nudged her head back, referring to Rex and Pyra who had fallen asleep on the other side of Dromarch, “I wouldn’t mind having someone else to talk to, about this kind of stuff, I mean, like I said, it’s so weird not having her right there to talk to all the time and seeing what goes on while she’s in charge and I’m not…”

“About this kind of stuff?” gold eyes gave a flat look, “You make it sound like I know a bloody thing about all this…”

“Well, you had that thing for Jin, too, didn’t you?” Mythra said bluntly, looking right at Nia as the Gormotti woman just turned red, “And not to be insensitive, but he’s dead too, so...” without thinking, Mythra just leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her knees, “that’s kind of like how I am with Addam…”

Nia just stared at Mythra flabbergasted. Looking past the light type Blade, she could see Morag just tugging her cap lower and Brighid putting her face in her hand.

“Mythra,” thankfully Dromarch spoke up, seemingly to the rescue, “It has been some time since my Lady has felt that way,” he coughed, unsubtly, clearing his throat, “He was still someone she knew and important, so he deserved her sympathy in the end, but I don’t think she has felt that way about him for a long time…”

“Hm?” Mythra seemed to think about it for a second, then dropped her fist into her other hand like she’d just had an idea, “Oh yea, I guess that’s right!” a cheeky smile spread on her face, “We both noticed how much you liked Rex!”

Again Nia turned a furious red, Morag sunk further into her cap, and now both Dromarch and Brighid were covering their faces with both hands and paws.

Mythra just continued on, seemingly oblivious, with a big grin on her face, “I don’t think we’d mind! I mean, now that we both have our own bodies it’s going to be a bit weirder, but hey we’re gonna work it out! I’m sure we could have fun with you too!” and for whatever reason Mythra just glomped Nia, squeezing her tight and wiggling.

That seemed to be enough to snap Nia out of her blushing induced catatonia, “THAT’S IT!! GRAMPS LET ME OFF!!” scratching and hissing, Nia tried to claw her way out of Mythra’s weirdly tight grip, ignoring as Dromarch was trying to calm her down and get a piece of her jumper in his mouth to pull her away from the edge. “I’M NOT DOING THIS!! I’M DONE WITH THIS DAMNIT!!” Nia’s frantic scrambling actually got to the point both Mythra and Dromarch were up trying to pull her back from the edge of Azurda’s body, causing the others to get up, even wake up Pyra and Rex who’d been asleep on the other side of the white tiger Blade.

“Eh! Ow! What the-?!” Rex conked his head on Azurda’s hide, noticing both him and Pyra were rubbing their heads as they groggily got up, “Eh? Gramps? Something happen? Huh?”

“Oh c’mon Nia!! This isn’t how you’re supposed to act!!” Mythra was trying to pull the Gormotti off one of the raised scales on Azurda’s back.

“My lady! It was a bad joke! Get down from there!!” Dromarch grumbled with one of Nia’s tassels in his maw trying to yank her down.

“I wasn’t joking!! I was being serious!” Mythra shouted.

“You’re not helping!!” Dromarch growled back.

“JUST LET ME JUMP OFF AND DROWN!! RIGHT NOW!!” Nia just yelled, tugging against the both of them.

Pyra had both her hands in front of her mouth, shocked red eyes going from her sister Blade to Nia, and wound up slightly glaring at Mythra, having an idea what she might have bluntly said inconsiderately.

“Hey, hey, hey!! C’mon Nia!!” Rex jumped into the fray, having no idea what it was about, “What’s this all about? I’m sure Mythra didn’t mean what she said?!”

“SHE MEANT IT!!” “I meant it!!” both Nia and Mythra shouted together.

Suddenly there was laughing and the whole argument stopped. All eyes turned to see Morag laughing, covering her face with her hand.

“Morag…” once again, Nia was the first to speak, climbing down and disengaging herself from the others, and going near the Ardainian, only stopping a few steps from her. It didn’t sound like Morag was just laughing, and the stern look Brighid was giving her didn’t make her feel any better.

“Sorry, eh-heh…” Morag finally shook her head, Nia was probably the only one to notice she wiped her eyes, before the Imperial Inquisitor lowered her hand behind her back with her other, looking at all of them with an oddly pleasant look, “I just… found the whole situation hilarious,” light brown eyes lowered, looking Nia in the eyes and her small smile rose, “I hope you have an enjoyable life, Nia,” then she raised her head, looking at Rex, Dromarch, Mythra, and Pyra, “With those you care about most…”

Those cream colored grey Gormotti ears just dropped and Nia was staring at Morag with her mouth agape, unable to say a word.

In the background Pyra looked about to cry before she turned to Mythra with a stern look and seemed to subtly nudge her. Mythra just gave that oddly cocky grin of hers back to her sister Blade, seeming to shrug.

Oblivious to all of this, Rex stepped forward, “Hey, c’mon, Morag, we’ll see you again!!” he walked up a bit more, ending up next to Nia, “It might be a bit for things to settle down, but we’ll definitely have to head to Mor Ardain at some point to see how everything’s going!”

Finally, Morag seemed to shift her eyes to Rex. She couldn’t hate the boy, he had no idea how she felt in this matter, and beyond it he was a good friend to her and all the others. It had been a fun journey, an interesting ride, and she had seen things that no one else but them would ever see again.

Holding out her hand, Morag conceded her emotions, “It has been a pleasure, meeting you Rex, and traveling together to Elysium, I wish you well.” She meant it, she truly did.

A bit confused, Rex she took the older woman’s hand, shaking it firmly like he would a dear friend, “Back at you Morag,” he grinned wider, “Hey, when I’m older, we got to hang out at a bar or something, swap stories!! I’m sure you’ll have a ton more awesome tales by then!!”

With a genuine smile, Morag let go of the boy’s hand, returning to her parade stance, “Perhaps,” she gave a nod, “I bet by then we can have a good punch out and drink to seal the friendship, as we should have after Gormott.”

Rex just gave a wide grin, thumbing his nose, “Sixth Rule of the Salvager’s Code, you can count on it Morag!”

“Lady Morag,” Brighid called her Driver from behind, “Mor Ardain is in sight, we will be landing soon…”

“Very well,” with a crisp nod, Morag faced the two remaining Drivers of their little band. She gave an inspection perfect salute, “On behalf of the Ardainian Empire, it has been a pleasure,” her eyes drifted to Nia, “Both of you…”

Rex gave a mock salute as Azurda landed on the busy docks of the imperial palace of Mor Ardain.

“Mor Ardain, everybody off whose getting off!” Azurda chuckled to himself.

Morag finally dropped her salute, looking the two over in front of her and those behind them, giving another nod, “Well then…” giving a perfect about face, she stepped back and turned around, intent to leave with her dignity intact.

A hand shot out and grabbed the Inquisitor’s elbow, halting her in place.

In a bout of emotion, Nia had transformed into her Blade form, grabbing Morag’s arm, while biting her lip. – _I don’t want you to go… but I have nothing to say…_ -

“I want you to be happy, Nia…” came from Morag’s stoic form, in a low voice probably only the Gormotti woman could hear.

Those long catlike ears rose in surprise as Nia looked up, tears at the edges of her eyes. She was too stunned to hold onto the woman, watching as Morag shook off her hand and headed towards Azurda’s wing to leave, back to her country, her life, before all of this happened.

Brighid gave a small bow, looking towards Nia for a moment but there was nothing on her face. No hate, no sadness, no joy, just a look and then she turned to follow her Driver back to Mor Ardain.

She didn’t turn back, not a single step did she ever turn back.

That’s probably what got to Nia the most.

“Damnit,” unable to hold it in any more, Nia just collapsed, falling to her knees on Azurda’s back, as she held her eyes trying to stem the tears.

“Ack! Nia!!” Rex dropped next to her, looking at her worried, frantic, not sure what to do, “Hey, hey! You alright?! Nia!!”

“My Lady!” “Nia!” Dromarch and Pyra were down by her as well, both being just as ineffective as Rex.

Mythra, oddly, stood back, arms crossed over her chest, and leaned a bit to the side, a funny smile on her face.

“NO! I’M NOT BLOODY ALRIGHT!!” the Gormotti Blade waved all three of those near her away. They all yelped and jumped away, as she used her elaborate sleeves to wipe her eyes, still covering them, “Damnit, I’m not alright…”

Rex crouched in front of her, hands near but not sure if he should touch her, “Hey, hey, hey, c’mon, no need to cry…” mustering up the courage, he held her shoulders gently, coaxing her to look at him, red rimmed golden eyes to his bright ones, “There, see, it’s gonna be alright…”

“How ya figure that?” Nia bit out as her ears dropped, “I just… made a bloody fool of myself, getting all embarrassed over something so stupid… and she just…” it hurt, so much, watching her just walk away.

“Hey,” Rex squeezed her shoulder, “Morag said it herself, she wants you to be happy,” the boy just smiled at his friend, “if that wasn’t an invitation to go with her, I don’t know what is!”

“Rex?” Nia blinked, looking at the boy.

He just kept grinning, “C’mon, I’m not that dense, I seen the way you two got along,” he rubbed his head a bit embarrassed, “Can’t say I ever met two girls that close, but hey, if it makes you happy, I want you to be happy too, Nia!”

Gold eyes just stared at the boy.

Behind Nia, Pyra just put her head in her hand, “Rex…”

“What? I can’t’a been the only one!” he looked from one Blade to another, “C’mon! Even Zeke noticed! And he doesn’t pay attention to anything!”

Now Pyra was covering her face with both hands, shaking her head, “That’s not the point…”

The poor boy seemed to try and defend himself a bit more and Pyra just reprimanded him, and it all just became white noise to Nia until she finally couldn’t take it anymore…

“YOU!! STUPID!! BOY!!” with fury Nia gripped his suspenders and held him close, “She just gave up on me!! She let me go!! She just finally had enough and told me to follow you and your damn harem because of those stupid emotions I can’t help but have for you!! And maybe Pyra and Mythra too!! And all of you are just so BLOODY STUPID AND PERFECT!! AND I JUST LET THE GODDAMN BEST THING TO EVER COME INTO MY LIFE LEAVE OFF THIS TITAN THINKING I DIDN’T CARE ABOUT HER!!” by the end of it Nia had collapsed, crying in Rex’s arms and just so upset and confused she didn’t know what to do…

Before anyone else could so much as respond, Mythra walked up behind Nia, grabbed her by the scruff of her outfit and brought her up, turned her around and gave her a big hug, whispering in her ear, “Go after her, you idiot…”

Gold eyes blinked at the light type Blade.

Then Mythra held Nia out at arm’s length, smiled even wider at the Gormotti Blade, before picking her up and throwing her overboard.

With a yelp Nia landed in a pile of ropes on the Imperial pier, Dromarch jumping off after her. By the time she got herself untangled and stood up, glaring at those still on Azurda, she noticed Rex and Pyra looking flabbergasted, while Mythra was still giving her an extremely cocky grin, hands on her hips and smug. She knew what she was doing, and she knew what Nia needed to do what she really wanted.

“My lady, are you alright?” Dromarch nudged her side, seeing if there was anything wrong.

“Nope,” Nia shook her head, dusted herself off, and jumped on Dromarch’s back, glaring back at Mythra one last time, before guiding her blade down the path towards the elevators, “C’mon, we’ve got somewhere to be…”

“Of course, My Lady!” with a spring in his step, Dromarch took off.

\-----

From the top of Azurda’s back, Rex, Pyra and Mythra watched Nia and Dromarch take off.

Pyra turned to her sister Blade, “Mythra, what did you say to Nia that had her so upset?”

The cocky light type Blade just smirked to her sister Blade, “Oh, just told her if she _reeeeaaallly_ wanted, she could join us,” adding a wink at the end, “Don’t think either of us would have minded.”

This resulted in Pyra holding up both her hands in front of her mouth, partly trying to stop the giggling and being shocked at Mythra’s boldness, “You didn’t…”

Mythra’s cocky grin would not leave, “Hey, I still owe her and Morag for those few nights of getting on my case,” she crossed her arms, pretending to be indignant but totally not, “Besides…” her light eyes opened, watching the Imperial port, “I figured it was about time she finally made up her mind…” with a nostalgic look, Mythra looked at her sister Blade, showing a level of sincerity only Pyra knew she was truly capable of.

Reaching out, Pyra grabbed her sister Blade’s hand, proud of her, “I think you should start taking your own advice…”

The light type Blade just rolled her eyes, shaking her shoulders, trying to be indignant, “You know, this wasn’t as weird when we shared the same body!”

The fire type Blade just laughed, finding Mythra’s difficult attitude far more amusing outside their shared mind.

\-----

“Lady Morag?” Brighid addressed her Driver gently. Once they had gotten off Azurda, Morag had made a bee-line for the elevator in the palace, going up to the second deck. The blue flame Blade had thought she would then take the royal elevator up to see if her brother was in the throne room, but instead Morag had taken a right, heading down the rampart and stopped at a turret in the middle that overlooked the capital.

There was a lot of damage from the Titans fighting, from Indol’s attack, then from the Artifices under Malos’ control. Small titan ships were making their way back to Mor Ardain, having evacuated with citizens that managed to escape, only to turn around and follow the titan as it made its way to this new land below the Cloud Sea.

The largest titans were laying down to rest, becoming part of the land of Elysium. Mor Ardain was the oldest titan and had been closest to death for a long time. This new land seemed a fitting final resting place for it, yet Brighid couldn’t say she ever remembered it looking so beautiful with patches of actual greenery growing on its surface.

Despite the destruction, the damage, it really was pretty.

Yet, there Morag stood, not seeing any of it.

“Brighid,” the mortal Driver’s voice lilted towards her Blade, still not turning around to face her, “Is it… supposed to hurt this much?”

The blue flame Blade crossed her arms over her chest, looking upon her Driver with sympathy, “I don’t know, I can’t remember a time I ever felt like that, even my journal doesn’t mention anything,” leaning to the other side, the Jewel of the Empire considered, “though I think if I ever did, I would not have faced the same loss as you have, as I probably would have returned to my core crystal by then…”

“Heh,” Morag’s shoulders shook, “Blades and their Drivers, they’re the supposed to have that kind of bond… right?”

“Not always,” Brighid waved her hand, “I can say without a doubt I love you, Lady Morag, and you care about me just as much, but not in the same way you grew to care for her…”

“Is it strange to say,” Gloved hands clinched at Morag’s sides, “You’re the closest to a mother I’ve ever had, Brighid?”

For a short moment the blue flame Blade was surprised, but then smiled gently, “Not at all, I have taken care of you since you were a young girl, so perhaps that is the best way to put it…”

Suddenly both hands went up, covering Morag’s face as her shoulders shook, taking in deep gasping breathes and trying not to collapse from all the emotions she felt, “I love her, Brighid, why do I have to feel this way?”

Taking a step forward, Brighid put her hand on her Driver’s shoulder, meaning to comfort her, “I don’t have an answer for you, Lady Morag.”

Shaking her head, Morag just kept her head in her hands, “It was here,” rubbing her eyes she finally looked up, at the view ahead of them, “This is where we truly talked for the first time, as travelers on the same path, and for once we agreed, becoming comrades…” a fragile smiled tried to edge its way onto Morag’s lips at the memory as her arms crossed around her to hold herself, “This is where it started, where I fell in love with her, for something as silly as that fiery passion of hers…”

“Such a strange thing from a Gormotti,” Brighid interjected, “Even more so for a water type Blade…”

“Heh,” that brought Morag’s shoulders up, finding a laugh where she wanted to just wallow in her misery, “Yes, it makes so much sense… now…”

Sensing her small joke may have backfired, Brighid lowered her hand on Morag’s shoulder to her back, rubbing a soothing circle, “I’m sure everything will be fine, given time, this isn’t the first time you’ve been interested in a cute girl…”

Morag just shook her head, “Any other time I was interested, I buried those feelings before they could start, crushing them under my duty to the Empire,” gloved hands gripped her elbows, “I wasn’t meant to fall in love, Brighid, my place is here, my duty is here, I’m supposed to-!!”

Suddenly the blue flame Blade was looking at her Driver, eyes open for once and slapped her across the face.

It was probably the first time Morag had been on the other side of Brighid’s hand, too shocked to say anything.

Brighid just stared at her Driver sternly, “Don’t ever say that again, Morag,” her eyes went back to their closed appearing state, her dark blue brows furrowing, “Emperor Niall told you, when he gave you Ageneon, to find your own path, to pursue your own dreams and desires, do you honestly want him to see you like this? Giving up and just returning to the Empire because it’s easy?”

Ashamed, Morag just looked towards the ground, “I don’t know what to do…”

Glancing over Morag’s shoulder, Brighid smirked just slightly, turning back to her Driver sternly, “Think of it as a mission, start with how the situation started and walk your way through it.”

“Brighid…” light brown eyes pleaded with the Blade, she didn’t want to face all that right now.

The blue flame Blade just held up her hand to stop her, “The sooner you assess, the sooner you can progress.” Ending with a knowing smirk Morag had seen a hundred times, because the keen eyed Blade knew they both knew she was right.

“Fine,” with a deep sigh, Morag looked back, over their odd journey and tried to figure out how she got here, “I first met her in Torigoth, intent to interrogate a captured member of Torna, but we learned of her association with the Aegis and wanted to learn more information…”

“Mmhmm,” Brighid nodded, “Was there anything about that meeting you particularly remember?”

Against her wishes, Morag actually chuckled at the memory, “She was… so angry about the wanted poster, how it looked nothing like her and I… I couldn’t help but sympathize a bit and found it quite amusing…”

Brighid smiled, “And the next time?”

Glancing up, Morag took on a more professional stance, trying to treat this as any other mission report, “There was the incident in Torigoth where we fought them, though I wasn’t focused on her, we were intent on capturing the Aegis-!”

Holding up her hand, Brighid halted her Driver, “Let’s skip over that, focus on events where your feelings for her were the primary focus.”

A small blush crept up on Morag’s face as she ducked her chin, trying to hide behind her visor, feeling a bit uncomfortable, “Do we… have to?”

“That is the point,” putting her hands on her hips, Brighid just stared sternly at her Driver as if admonishing a child.

Fidgeting for a moment and not having the courage to look her Blade in the eye, Morag continued, “I saw her, once more in Torigoth… before we left…” feeling extremely nervous, Morag seemed to innocuously find picking at her sleeves extremely interesting, “At the time, we were just there to keep a handle on the developments in Torigoth after what happened with the Consul, and you know I liked to go off on my own and have tea at the café…”

“Yes,” Brighid looked amused, like she knew something Morag didn’t, “You liked to skip out on important meetings to observe the locals,” a chuckle, “You two were quite cute, unknowingly flirting…”

“We were not flirting!” light brown eyes burned with fire for an embarrassed moment before Morag realized what Brighid just said, “You were spying on us!” Brighid didn’t even respond, just smirking, causing the Imperial Inquisitor to glare at her Blade, crossing her arms in a huff, “I was simply asking her for information about the Aegis, since they had returned from Uraya for some errands and the locals had reported strangers helping out with various errands…”

“Mmhmm,” that smirk did not leave Brighid’s face, “And why did you tell her to sit with you, while you were gathering information, even offered to get her a drink? Some tea if I remember?”

Light brown eyes glared, “I was being polite…” then Morag shifted a bit, pink rising to her cheeks, “She seemed… upset… and we weren’t exactly enemies, even then, so I just… trying to offer support…”

“That was the first time I tried to tell myself to let Rex go, cause he and Pyra were so obviously in love with each other, even if they were too dense to notice…” a voice called out from behind the Inquisitor.

Extremely stiffly, Morag tensed and slowly turned around, momentarily catching the smug look on Brighid’s face.

Nia was standing in her elaborate Blade from, next to Dromarch with her hand on his back like she’d just gotten off him. Only a few feet away, and her eyes looked so bright and soft, “Dromarch, even my other Blades, they all tried to tell me to move on, and I told myself I would, that’d I’d accept their feelings, let them be happy together, and I’d support them ‘cause I didn’t really have anywhere else to be at the time…” nervously she scratched behind her neck, “Vandham teased me back then, for being such a sucker, but I think he knew how I felt and just didn’t want me getting myself hurt,” gold eyes shyly rose, catching Morag’s surprised look, “So you liked me… even back then, when we didn’t know each other?”

“I-!” it felt like there was cotton in Morag’s mouth as she fumbled for words, let alone comprehend what she was seeing.

“I doubt that was the main reason,” Brighid somewhat came to her Driver’s rescue, “She spent quite some time as a child in Gormott, it may have given her a bit of a preference for Gormotti…”

“Brighid!!” in a swift turn, the embarrassed woman was glaring at her Blade.

Not that it stopped Brighid, as she just held up a hand like she was telling a secret, “Perceval and I thought it was extremely amusing when she resonated with Godfrey…”

Adorably, Nia brought both hands up her mouth, trying to hide and stop her snickering, “R-really, Morag? Is that how you feel?”

The Inquisitor did not respond, but Brighid, with a sly hand near her own lips couldn’t help but continue the teasing, “But don’t worry Nia, thankfully he was a boy, and Morag would definitely prefer a Gormotti woman~”

That comment hit like a ton of bricks and Nia’s eyes went wide and her ears dropped in shock as she turned to Morag for some kind of rebuttal.

Instead the Imperial Inquisitor just looked extremely uncomfortable, eyes closed, brows drawn low, arms crossed tensely and a minute frown on her face, “I may have thought she was…” red crept up Morag’s stern face, “Cute… at the time, but that wasn’t why I offered to help… she looked like she needed a break, so I offered her a drink, no ulterior motives.”

“Besides getting info on what we’d been doin’ since we left Gormott?” Nia offered smugly, finding it adorable when Morag opened her eyes to look at her a moment, clearly embarrassed before looking away ashamed. Nia just shook her head, “It’s alright, you were upfront about that bit… and you didn’t have to, but you did, even if I still hated you at the time…”

“So why did you take up my offer?” it was a genuine question from Morag.

“You mean aside from it bein’ asked to have tea by one of arguably the scariest people in Alrest? With all the power an’ influence behind you of the Ardainian military?” Nia was being snide but when she saw Morag withdraw she dropped it, sighing and looking to the side with her hands on her hips, “Honestly? Think I just wanted to talk with someone that wasn’t… my Blade, or would tease me, or was blind and oblivious about everything around them… it was just, different,” a minute smile rose on Nia’s face at the memory, “It was nice, now that I think about it.”

“Nia, I…” nervously, Morag started, uncomfortably holding her arm, not sure what to do, “I admit, I may have been… attracted… to you… before I joined the team, but that never influenced my actions, or I tried to not let it,” looking down Morag tried to compile her thoughts, “I’ve always just, put those thoughts in the back of my mind, focusing on the mission, because they never amounted to anything and I never revealed them,” gripping her arm tighter, “When I joined you all after the events of the Artificial Blade factory, I just… I was trying to make amends for what I did before, to start over and just… _just_ be your friend or at the very least a comrade…” the look in those light brown eyes as they stared at Nia said everything, “Nothing more…”

“Yea, well…” Nia scratched her face, looking to the side, “Think we both messed that up…” when she looked up, with a gentle sincere smile, she was glad to see Morag facing her again and not hiding, “I really thought I hated you, but I think I just… didn’t like how you were always so…” unconsciously Nia was shaking her head, her smile widening, “I dunno, chivalrous? Too damn good to be true?” she gave a laugh as a thought entered her mind, knowing Morag wouldn’t like it, “You were like some prince from a fairy tale or sumit, all posh and pristine.”

The face Morag made was priceless, especially when she tried to push it aside by looking away.

Nia just smiled, “I think… because I was so blind with my own feelings… for Rex and Jin, I just…” there was a sigh, “You got under my skin, cause I wanted someone close, cause who I thought I wanted would never look at me the way you did, and I thought we were just getting close as friends, as someone I could trust, and slowly let in…”

Tentatively, Nia walked forward, Dromarch following a step behind, as she walked a bit past Morag to stand by her side, and look out at the scenery of Mor Ardain.

“You’re right, ya know, this is where it started now that I think about it…”

Morag was surprised to hear that, turning to look at the scenery again, with her hands behind her back comfortably and Nia by her side.

There was a brief chuckle as Nia shook her head, “To think, I yelled at you up here, just cause I was angry about so many different things, and you were here, listening, being sensible while I was acting like an arse,” gold eyes turned to look up at Morag, “I thought I was just accepting you as a friend, but now I think I was accepting you as more than that…” waving her hand she summoned her crystal scimitar, “Technically, that makes it so you were the first person I trusted with my true feelings,” she held the weapon out to the woman, “I was just too blind to see what those feelings really were…”

Surprise was obviously there in Morag’s eyes, along with hesitation, “Are you… sure?”

Nia looked up at the tall Ardainian woman sincerely, “You were the first to hear my true feelings, the first to spur me to use my true powers, and if it weren’t for you I would probably still be hiding who I was and not be able to accept what I am,” then a cheeky smile crept up on the Gormotti Flesh-Eater’s face, “So really, if it weren’t for you always verbally sparing with me, we wouldn’ta ever been able to get through the Crucible, or Malos or any’a that stuff cause I would have never… never done something like risk everything to save someone’s life…” gold eyes shined, “All cause I didn’t want the person I care about most to cry over losing her little brother…”

A funny smile crept on Morag’s face as she finally took the handle of the crystal scimitar offered to her, “Can’t say I feel all that special,” holding the weapon up she looked it over, “being the second person to wield this…”

“Shut it,” Nia elbowed Morag in the ribs, not that it did really anything to the sturdy woman, “We’re all allowed to make mistakes and lose our way from time to time,” when she looked up Morag was still smiling, inspecting the blade in her hand, it made Nia blush, “Besides, I’m a Flesh-Eater, I’ve apparently only got this life, like you mortals,” she crossed her arms, pretending to be annoyed, “I got to try things out before I find the right person, ey?”

Completely ignoring what she was saying, Morag just leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, causing the Gormotti Blade to blush furiously, “Thank you, Nia, I will treasure this opportunity.”

When Nia glanced to the side, Morag looked like a kid that just got the toy she always wanted, it was beyond adorable, “Oh hell,” and giving up all pretense she just turned towards her, grabbing the Ardainian woman around her neck and kissing her as passionately as she could.

Resulting in Morag just grabbing the smaller woman around the back, picking her up and continuing the kiss, words completely lost to both of them.

“Oh my,” Brighid had her hands covering her face.

“This is quite embarrassing,” Dromarch had his paws covering his face.

“If only there was something to distract us…” Brighid looked away, to the side, ignoring those two and looking up at the Palace.

\-----

“It seems our Drivers have finally settled their conflict,” a monotonous voice spoke from one of the edges near the top of the Ardainian royal palace. A female Blade comprised of a woman’s main body fused with that of a large mechanical black dragon was seated, looking down at the spot their Drivers were intimately embracing, much to the embarrassment of their primary Blades.

“Indeed,” a second, nearly as monotonous voice replied. Another female blade, having a design of a battle android that seemed oddly out of place in Alrest, cupped her hands, one in a black glove, the other not, over her chest as she closed her red eyes, a calm smile taking over her normally emotionless face, “I have a strange sensation in my chest, as if something I remember from long ago…”

“KOS-MOS?” the black dragon-like Blade rose from her comfortable seated position, hovering nearby the pale blue haired android.

“It is nothing, Herald,” KOS-MOS turned back to Herald, that odd familiar smile on her face, “Shall we?”

The pale purple haired maiden inside the mecha-dragon nodded, the black dragon portion following her motions, “Yes, let us.”

In a moment both summoned their large Ether Canons. KOS-MOS having two large crystal covered triple gatling gun looking Ether Canons, while Herald moved her two faced tails in front, having her Ether Canon present in front of her body, as all her dragon heads started to summon Ether from the air.

“Ready.” Both said in unison, before firing off all their artillery.

\-----

Suddenly the skies around Mor Ardain exploded into fireworks of Ether explosions set off by two over-powered Blades standing on the roof of the Ardainian Imperial Palace.

It was enough to make everyone all over Mor Ardain stop and stare.

Morag and Nia, shocked by the first explosion, jumped apart, though Morag held Nia’s Crystal Scimitar tightly in her hand, while instinctively placing Nia behind her, the Blade summoning her power and prepped for an attack.

They only relaxed when laughter popped up on both sides of them.

“Honestly,” Brighid chuckled, glancing from her Driver to the two on the Palace roof, “Seems those two were just looking for any excuse to show off their power…”

There was a big sigh from the other side, Dromarch shaking his head, “KOS-MOS still needs to learn when to hold back,” her rubbed his face, ears back from all the large explosions and fireworks, “Having Herald around will just make it worse…”

“And here I thought it was the other way around,” Brighid smirked, turning back while holding her chin amused with her arms propped by the other, “But I guess that can’t be helped now, can it?”

Morag just blushed at the look her Blade was giving her, squeezing Nia’s hand as the Gormotti Flesh-Eater was burying her own embarrassment in Morag’s back. There was only one proper response to that smug look, “Shut it!”

Brighid and Dromarch just gave their Drivers a look, then started laughing. The world may have ended, and a new one reborn, but it seemed their journey together wasn’t quite over.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERALD AND KOS-MOS TALK TO EACH OTHER!!
> 
> sorry, i was doing the last run to final boss and i have Herald on Morag and KOS-MOS on Nia (also Maining her cause again, she is BAE... literally here XD) and after fighting a big robot thing THE TWO BLADES START TALKING TO EACH OTHER... i was flabbergasted... but it required a mention cause OMG THAT IS JUST ADORABLE! XD also if ANY Blade was similar to KOS-MOS og then yea, it'd be Herald~
> 
> but yes, the feels, the heart break, the joy... and Mythra being a dick... i like her being a dick :3
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed~ this might be 'the end' but it might not be the end of THIS, since i have two other scenes i was TRYING to finish but RL blocked those and i beat the game, but the scene Nia and Morag discuss is one of those, but basically an inserted scene i could see the two having between just them, involving Tea~ ufufufu... but just a dumb moment~ purely for the Yuri...
> 
> also i have no idea how the multiple-Blade bit works in 'reality' but the idea of having like 200 people following you around seems silly, so i just guess the other Blades (legendaries and rares obviously~) just kind of wonder off doing what they want until... summoned? i dunno, who knows, this is why i tried to avoid it primarily in writing, but i couldn't help myself here~
> 
> anyway, i hope you guys enjoyed! i certainly have had a ton of fun with this :3


	6. Gormotti Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morag grew up with an unusual set of circumstances, and somehow that led her here, in Torigoth, having tea with someone that probably hated her guts...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is what happens when i think too much on Morag's backstory, the damn woobie that she is, and just how gay she is~ it all started early, clearly~ i still love her anyway...
> 
> also that one scene i was trying to fix up that i mentioned in Fireworks. just felt like adding a bit more while i'm here~
> 
> takes place somewhere around the time Vandham was taking the kids to the capitol of Uraya, you just know more shenanigans happened, and with the function to literally teleport anywhere at will gameplay-wise, it leaves openings for these weird little gaps, so i'm just saying he hooked into the kids for a while longer and used them as his lackies before all that fun stuff with Cole was settled...
> 
> i kinda liked Vandham~
> 
> enjoy!

Gormotti Tea

Ever since she was young, Morag knew she was a bit different.

Initially she was raised by her father to take over for the empire. He had no sons, and despite tradition always beamed about his daughter, teaching her everything she would have needed to handle the throne of Mor Ardain should anything happen to him.

When her cousin Niall was born, it never bothered her.

She loved him like a little brother, perfectly content with the crown passing to him.

Her father died first, a casualty of the stirring war that would engulf Mor Ardain and Gormott. Her uncle was only emperor long enough to ensure the crown passed to Niall, but Morag had accepted that long ago. The Emperor passed the throne to his son, or the closest equivalent.

Her young cousin, whom she had taken in as her own little brother when his father passed, was the rightful heir. She’d fight anyone that argued otherwise.

This fierce loyalty and protectiveness of the young Emperor made it clear what her role in life would be. She would be the Special Inquisitor of Mor Ardain, the Emperor’s eyes and ears in other nations, but more importantly she would be his shield.

She had started to learn how to fight long before Niall was even born, something her father taught her that she took to easily, and continued as a reminder of him, then as a means to help protect her brother.

When her father passed she had to train under a Master-at-Arms with other officer trainees. Many of the boys thought she was too girly to be a proper soldier.

She broke several of their noses for that.

But it was an important lesson, if she wanted to be taken seriously as she was, she had to look the part. She didn’t go as far as cutting her hair, Niall liked it, but put it up in a bun and tucked it away under her recruit cap. She stood broader, straight, tall, assertive, and practiced looking as menacing as possible.

When she could manage getting those other officer trainees to quake in their boots with but a look, she knew she had the right of it.

With her father and uncle passed, their Blades’ core crystals passed to her and Niall. Ageneon went to Niall and Brighid, the crown jewel of the empire, went to her. Niall insisted since her father was the prior Emperor.

Brighid was beautiful, to say the least. Morag was stunned such a Blade existed, so demure, courteous, and beautiful… yet she was powerful enough to make the whole of Mor Ardain tremble.

Beautiful AND powerful, it was something Morag could not hope for herself, at least so she thought.

Brighid was charming, witty, and often teased her for her tomboyish actions and appearance. She was like an older sister, or even the mother Morag never had. She had been raised mostly by her father, the Emperor, was it really that ridiculous she tended to like boyish things?

The blue flame Blade taught Morag things only a woman would know, like make up and clothing and how best to assert herself with but a look. Brighid had teased her for making it this far on her own, but there was so much more she just did not understand.

Morag listened, learned, and enjoyed the time spent treating herself, and her Blade.

As she got older more was expected of her. Morag was the face of the Empire, she had standards to live up to. Be it her appearance, her battle presence, her diplomatic capabilities… everything was scrutinized and picked at by the senators and their families. Regal affairs were just excuses for them to test and judge her.

More often than not some noble tried to sell of one of their sons to her, she had to decline, out of duty was her prominent excuse. Niall, when he got old enough to recognize what was going on, made it so that her job, her presence as the Imperial Inquisitor and Representative of the Empire took top priority. It was a silly child’s excuse to get those nobles to bugger off and leave his big sister alone, since she was _clearly_ too busy to be tied down to the Imperial shores by something as _trivial_ as marriage.

The boy was smart, politically savvy, Morag always supposed she should be proud of herself for somehow teaching him that. Likely it came from Brighid or Ageneon really…

Morag just didn’t have time, or interest, in _personal_ entanglements. She couldn’t show that kind of weakness out of obligation, nor favoritism to one noble or another…

No matter what excuses she made, Brighid would always laugh and simply say she ‘wasn’t interested’ in those types.

Morag learned more of what Brighid likely meant in her later teens, when going to the public hot spring became something of a… chore.

For starters most people at this point knew her by looks alone… and assumed she was a man. Her early choices to impersonate her father to garner favor with her fellow recruits seemed to be haunting her.

The other issue, when she all but stripped for anyone that dared bar her from the women’s time of the baths… or simply throw them over the cliff, which Brighid had to constantly dissuade her from… occurred when anyone _else_ was in the hot spring with her. She’d become accustomed to Brighid’s presence, though the blue flame Blade _rarely_ joined her actually in the water as, being a fire type Blade, she _HIGHLY_ objected to any form of water, but often enough sat nearby, especially when Morag was alone. The problem came when she wasn’t alone…

She found herself staring at other women, often.

Morag excused herself, saying she was just curious, that they were beautiful and wondering how they did it, that she would get bored eventually.

It persisted into her twenties. At least by this point she managed to be more discreet about it, not gawking like in her teens.

At one point, Brighid finally just flat out told her she fancied women. _“Being around men your whole life, you don’t even notice them.”_ Had been her snide explanation. Morag knew there was more to it than that and a simple smirk from Brighid told her the Blade knew it as well.

Being taught _the Bunnits and the Krabbles_ by her Blade was even more embarrassing then all the talk between the officer recruits when the Master-at-Arms wasn’t looking.

In Mor Ardain it wasn’t uncommon, really, for people to be attracted to the same sex. There were senators that were openly married like that. So… it wasn’t exactly frowned upon.

It was just that… she was the face of Mor Ardain. The representative of her brother, the Emperor. She just… couldn’t waste her time with such trivial things.

So despite whatever bouts of curiosity or even, she shuddered to think, _desire_ might pop up, Morag vowed to herself that her duty to Mor Ardain came first and foremost. That decision, that conviction, was probably the only reason she was single, and like her military uniform that she was so proud of, her duty to her country would wind up being as much of a pain in the ass as people constantly mistaking her for a man.

\-----

She had been sent to Gormott to investigate possible illegal transactions, not to mention blatant abuse of power, in the region as well as see if there was any validity to the rumors of Torna activity. By the time she’d arrived herself, a Gormotti Driver and Blade had been captured by the local authorities, Brighid helping out as her advanced scout. As soon as Morag set foot on Gormott Brighid was there telling her the details of her encounter with the captured Torna member and a boy that had apparently unlocked the Aegis.

That was a whole lot more than Morag had been expecting, but it was very significant. If the Aegis was awakened, and its Driver here, they needed to capture both and question them, at the very least, on their intentions.

It was understood between Morag and Brighid that they needed to make sure another Aegis war didn’t suddenly start in Gormott. That would be bad for the Empire and the entire world.

So, first things first, she needed to speak with the Torna member they’d apprehended and find out the whereabouts of the Aegis and its Driver.

The Torna Driver was a young Gormotti woman, who had quite the mouth on her for all manner of obscenities if needed, mostly aimed at the Consul, not that Morag could entirely disagree. The man was deplorable, clearly only in the position for his own gain, and had no real interest in benefiting the people of Torigoth or helping relations between the Gormotti and the Ardainians stationed here. It was one of the issues she’d come here for initially, but that would be dealt with in time.

The young Gormotti woman was brought into Consul Dughall’s office where she scathingly glared at everyone, particularly Brighid. If only the girl knew that’d only encourage Brighid more, if given the chance.

“So,” Morag decided to break the silence, glancing from the Gormotti Driver to the poster in front of her, “You are the Torna ruffian,” light brown eyes rose, watching the cream colored grey Gormotti through her visor, “I must say, you look a little…” a smirk played at the Inquisitor’s lips as she glanced back down at the poster, “ _different_ from your poster…”

Immediately that got a reaction from the girl, “A _little_ different!” she put her fists back and stomped her foot, looking straight at Morag with golden eyes, “the one who drew that should be the one in jail!”

Her little fit got a genuine laugh from the Inquisitor, as she nodded, empathizing on some level with her plight, “Yes, I would be angry too…”

The Gormotti Driver just scoffed, crossing her arms and looking away, “You can drop the friendly act.”

There was no real sign of the shift on Morag’s face, years of hiding her emotions assured that. – _Very well, straight to business…_ \- tightening her stance, shoulders back, hands behind her back, she looked directly at the Gormotti Driver, “You won’t name your friends?”

There was a scoff, “I wouldn’t exactly call those trigger happy Torna goons…” she rolled her head, ears tilting back annoyed with a small scowl on her face and narrow gold eyes, “ _Friends_.”

“I see,” Morag nodded, a small smile picking at the edge of her lips, opening her eyes to stare at the young Gormotti woman, “I think we have our wires crossed here, I am not talking about Torna.”

“Eh?” those gold eyes of hers blinked as she lowered her crossed arms, “Yer not?”

“No,” Morag continued, watching how the Gormotti woman acted. She was tense when she thought they were after Torna, but the aggression shown wasn’t something positive or defensive, probably a break in the relation, but it was still doubtful she’d tell them anything about the terrorist group. As for what Morag was truly interested in, “I was referring to your more recent traveling companions,” it was strange watching as the Gormotti Driver seemed to calm down significantly at just mentioning them, making this interrogation easier than she had expected, “the Driver boy and his Blade?”

Her brows went up, surprised they were even mentioned, “Rex and Pyra?”

A smile passed Morag’s face, “Well, that was easy…”

It was easy to see the surprise, and annoyance build on the Gormotti woman’s face. Clearly she had not thought to hide those two well, so something as simple as their names just slipped out. Probably chiding herself mentally.

It gave Morag an idea for capturing the Aegis and its Driver, this Rex and Pyra.

She smiled at the Gormotti Driver, Nia according to the poster they both disagreed with, having enjoyed their short time together. Any time she didn’t have to get physical for information was a good time. She sent the girl away under guard to be held in the brig on the Imperial ship docked at the Ardainian base. Torigoth didn’t really have a decent jail and Morag didn’t honestly trust whatever Dughall would do if the girl was left in his care. The thought was revolting.

There were only a few more preparations to make for her plan, simple really, as Morag already had the perfect bait to lure the Aegis and its Driver to come right towards her. A few rumors and they’d come desperately into her trap. Provided no one screwed this up, this would be a fairly easy capture. Then she could deal with why she was initially sent here in the first place…

And have Brighid stop taunting her about being so ‘nice’ during Nia’s interrogation.

\-----

The plan had failed SPECTACULARILY!

Thanks to Consul Dughall showing his true, greedy colors, the Aegis and its Driver had managed to free Nia, her blade, and they’d acquired the help of a local nutjob and his ‘artificial blade’. Dughall really messed this up. Lowering security, making access easy, leading them so HE could capture them by getting rid of her trap to begin with, not to mention his damnable paperwork that sent her halfway across Gormott at the exact right moment for this to be taking place.

- _Damn bastard!_ \- she was glad his own attempt to foil her had failed even better, getting beaten by the Aegis and company, just as she and Brighid were returning from that farce of a mission he’d set up.

The encounter had been short, and Morag was perfectly willing to admit she underestimated the boy. He couldn’t pull out the Aegis’ full power, but they were smart enough to figure out how to cut off her own source of power. Though dropping a water tower on her and Brighid was a bit much!

They had escaped, off into the wilds of Gormott.

Morag didn’t really care. She knew what they looked like, had seen their power, and for now the boy was of little to no consequence to the Empire. In his hands the Aegis, Pyra, was little more than a regular Blade. It wasn’t worth sending the Ardainian military out to find them…

Especially when there was so much paperwork to deal with and clean up to handle from that little stunt.

Morag stayed in Torigoth to oversee the functioning of the town and maintain the strained relationship with Mor Ardain. There were plenty of official reasons for the Special Imperial Inquisitor of Mor Ardain to be in Gormott, specifically Torigoth… but really she was being given a somewhat forced vacation.

Sure, paperwork needed to be done, a new Consul needed to be selected and a lot of managerial functions needed to be processed while all this was going through… it was just so much _easier_ when everyone was terrified by the Jewel of the Empire and the Flamebringer walking around.

That and Morag suspected that Driver boy, Rex, with the Aegis, Pyra, and… his _friends_ would likely return to Torigoth for one reason or another. Brighid had already picked up a few rumors of weirdos showing up and helping out with a few menial things around town. Also something about a small child getting shocked by a lightning Blade that went a bit nuts, but she doubted that had really anything to do with the Aegis and company.

Plus, after all that, Morag rather liked Gormott. Ten years ago, when she was still a small girl and Niall was just a toddler, they spent a long time in Gormott, living here in Torigoth. They’d slip their guards and go swimming in the lake nearby with the other Gormotti children, none of them even knew who they were and it was like that didn’t matter. Besides, Morag had enough training back then to protect Niall from any rowdy kids or a stray bunnit.

It was a fun memory.

But now she was an adult, the face of the Empire, all this work to do.

Morag couldn’t even walk down the street without someone gawking or scurrying away. The price of the power she needed to wield.

Despite this, she would normally spend her afternoons taking a nice break at the café outside the Inn. Most of the Gormotti would stare or scurry away, a lot of them aimed their scorn at her, as she was the personification of the Empire that invaded their lands and took over. Morag didn’t blame them their scorn, but it was grating in the sense no one did anything about it.

- _Either attack me or get on, I’ve no time for this…_ \- it was the other reason she would spend her afternoons at this café, it gave her a generally good idea at the social climate in Torigoth. How people were doing, how comfortable they were, what rumors were going around, the Gormotti’s views on the Empire, all of that.

This day seemed to be a bit interesting. – _There are an unusual number of blades…_ \- typically, basic Blades stood out like a sore thumb, grey skinned with lit up lines covering their bodies and their prominent core crystals sticking out of the their chest. Now, it wasn’t unusual to see common Blades around Torigoth, what was unusual was seeing the rare advanced Blades, the ones that could pass as human, with unique clothing, normal skin tones if they were humanoid, but like common Blades their core crystals were prominent and unique on their chests.

There was a tall fish man with a large axe on his back accompanying a short blonde girl with small horns and a big hammer nearby the bakery. A huge beast looking creature with a spear being shooed away from one store and dragged off towards a book seller by a woman with green hair and a large book chained to her neck. Another seemed to be a woman with dark skin, pale blue hair and a spear, along with a marionette looking woman with an Ether Canon being corralled by a familiar large white tiger, he seemed to be chastising them away from a window at the Inn and forcing them towards the market.

Spotting the white tiger Blade, Morag was almost tempted to get up and follow him, see where he went, if his Driver was nearby, and perhaps she could ask her some questions…

A hand slammed down on the table Morag was sitting at, “What the hell are you still doin’ here?”

Slowly opening her eyes, as Morag had been thinking a few… _unprofessional_ thoughts, leaning on her hand, she was glad it was there, hiding the surprise on her lower face as her visor partially hid her eyes. Looking from the clawed hand, up the yellow jumper sleeve, to the ornate hood, the pale neck, white marked cheeks and finally landing on those familiar gold eyes…

Morag had to take a moment to swallow and hope that the light burning on her cheeks was from the bright sunlight of Torigoth and nothing else. Any nervousness she hid well behind her confident voice and gloved hand, “Ah, I see, you are here,” putting her hand down, tenting her gloved fingers, Morag looked at the Gormotti Driver with a small smirk, “I expected as much, though not that you’d be the one coming to me, out in the open, on this fine day…”

Nia, that was her name, scowled at the Inquisitor, her Gormotti ears tilting back as her gold eyes glared, “Yea, course you did, expectin’ us to just waltz around right into your grasp, ey?”

Raising a dark brow, Morag just leaned back a bit, “Actually, I was just having some tea,” she grabbed her cup, taking a precise sip, before nudging the cup at the Gormotti Driver, “Would you care to join me?”

“Pff,” Nia crossed her arms, looking away, seeming far more on edge and defensive than she was the last time they’d met, “You’re tricks won’t work so easily this time!”

Setting her cup down, Morag propped her elbows on the wooden table, interlocking her fingers and leaned forward, looking up at the normally shorter woman, “No tricks, just one passerby to another,” a small smirk played on her lips as the young woman’s ear twitched closest to her, “Though I can’t say I’m not curious about what the Aegis and company have been doing since we last met, I had heard your group had shown up in Uraya, in a mercenary camp, if I recall?”

Gold eyes narrowed on the Ardainian woman, but Nia did pull out a chair, directly across from the Imperial Inquisitor, and sat down in it harshly. Arms still crossed, as she leaned back, keeping Morag in her sight, ears back and clearly defensive, “Yer awfully well informed, ey?”

Morag just shrugged, leaning forward a bit, “Comes with the territory,” her smirk picked up when Nia scoffed again, looking to the side, “I can’t set foot in Uraya unannounced with the current political climate, but one does hear quite a bit from mercenaries passing through, particularly in places like this,” waving a gloved hand, the Ardainian woman referred to the café around them.

Nia’s scowl could almost be called a pout now as she narrowly glared at the seemingly smug woman, “Fine,” she sighed deeply, “Not like it’s a big secret or nothing, but yea, we ran into the Garfront mercenaries and their leader, Vandham seems to have gotten it in his head that we work for him now, comin’ along with us, showin’ us around and havin’ us do his busy work for a spell…”

“And I take it he’s training that Driver boy, Rex, wasn’t it?” Morag leaned on one hand, feeling confident in her assessment and that this conversation would be quite enlightening.

What she didn’t expect was the way Nia seemed to deflate a bit at the mention of her traveling companion, leaning further back with her chair and looking towards the ground wistfully, all her spite towards Morag suddenly gone for that moment.

It sent a pang of sympathy through Morag’s chest, and before she realized it she had her hands down on the table, leaning forward, concern written in her eyes as she looked at the Gormotti Driver, “Nia, is everything alright?”

One of those cream colored grey ears perked up, causing Nia to snap out of whatever thoughts she was having, back to scowling and glaring at the Ardainian woman, “Yea, I’m fine, not that you care or anything…”

Cupping her hands together on the table and tapping her thumbs, Morag looked down, “Consider me a concerned citizen,” light brown eye flicked back up, watching the Gormotti woman through her visor, “It is my duty to come to the aid of any member of the Empire.”

There was a prominent scowl on Nia’s face as she scoffed, looking away, “Just cause I’m a Gormotti don’t make me a member of the bloody Empire…”

Sly light brown eyes watched the shorter woman behind her visor, an amused smirk playing at her lips, “Is that so?” as Morag’s confidence seemed to grow, she enjoyed watching as Nia seemed to get more suspicious, her ears dropping and her gold eyes narrowing, “Then I could just call you a terrorist and have you hauled, or a spy for the Urayan forces using the guise of mercenary work to invade or sabotage Torigoth…” Her gold eyes were practical slits and Morag knew that if they weren’t in such a public place the former member of Torna would probably hiss and scratch at her, but clearly she didn’t want to make a scene and the Imperial Inquisitor was betting on that. So she smirked, somehow managing both kind and menacing, as she leaned back in her chair, holding one hand up to support her chin, “Unless I’m mistaken, and you’re just any other Gormotti with concerns a dutiful member of the Empire could sincerely oblige to?”

“Yer a real piece of work, ya know that?” reaching across the table, Nia swiped Morag’s cup of tea and, just to be a dick knowing she had no real leverage on the woman, drank the rest of it in front of her while menacingly glaring.

The action had probably the most opposite effect Nia could have hoped for, as Morag stared at her, thankful for her visor, as she watched the criminal drink the rest of her tea and it brought an unconscious heat to her face and nervous feeling to her stomach. Luckily, when Nia put the cup down and seemed to be staring at her in challenge, Morag had the open option to just flat out ignore her by ordering them two more drinks from the nearest waitress.

Nia stared at the Inquisitor, annoyed with her ears tilted back, as from her point of view it seemed like the woman was completely unfazed and now was rubbing it in by ordering her another drink.

Then, almost as if to rub it in, Morag turned back to the Gormotti woman with an oddly pleasant seeming smile, “You seem like you enjoyed that…”

“It was cold.” In a huff, Nia turned to the side, leaning her head on her arm and purposely looked out at the crowd around them, “Suppose its good yer getting’ me another, least you can say you was bein’ polite and all.”

A brow rose on the Inquisitor’s face, eying the Gormotti woman before following her gaze into the crowd, spotting the various unique Blades, “I don’t suppose your group is responsible for the sudden increase in unique Blades this fine morning?”

Nia gave a snort, “What give you that idea?”

Conveniently, just down the street Dromarch appeared corralling a large group of the unique Blades, seemingly chiding them for wondering off or causing mischief.

Morag just gave Nia a side glance as their drinks arrived.

“Shut it,” the Gormotti Driver complained, grabbing her drink… then immediately spit half of it out as she stared at her cup, “The hell is this?! Who has booze this early in the morning!?!”

There was a chuckle next to the woman as Morag just took her own glass, enjoying the ‘special’ Gormotti Tea, “You looked like you needed something stronger…”

Gold eyes just narrowly glared at the Ardainian woman but Nia didn’t really have a rebuttal, just taking her drink and taking a long sip, “Shut it.”

With a smirk, Morag held out her glass, offering a small toast… which Nia did not return, only continuing to glare at the Inquisitor. It caused the dark haired military woman to sigh, taking a drink herself and setting her cup down, “I told you, just being a concerned citizen doing my duty…”

“Yea whatever,” Nia set her cup down, crossing her arms and slouching back into the chair a bit more as her gold eyes just narrowed on the woman across from her, “Well, go on, ask what ya wanna ask.” She waved her hand, telling the woman to get on with her snooping.

Morag gave her an odd look, it was sincere, almost sad in a way, but as she push her cup aside and sat straight, hands clasped in front of her on the table, the Imperial Inquisitor seemed to take the concerned woman’s place, “Very well, are you here to spy on Gormott for the Urayans?”

“No,” Nia said flatly.

“Has the Aegis or its Driver shown any sign of losing control or having the intent to be a threat to the Ardainian Empire?”

“No,” gold eyes rolled, “Rex and _Pyra_ ‘aven’t got any crazy plans to go on some destruction spree or whatever you seem to think they plan to do,” she waved her hand, looking to the side and clearly trying to avoid the topic, “They just wanna go chase some fairy tale, thas it.”

Light brown eyes narrowed slightly at the Gormotti woman, “You seem to be deflecting something, are you hiding any information?”

“Oh yea, loads of it!” Nia held her hands out wide, balancing on the back legs of her chair as she seemed to get more frustrated, “They’re secretly planning on getting some titan level weapon and taking out Mor Ardain! They wanna run off an’ raise bunnits in Leftheria! Hell, they might just wanna go round stealing everyone’s knickers for the hell of it! you just **_never_** know with this crazy lot!!” she scoffed, crossing her arms and rolling her gold eyes, “Hell, for all you know Vandham’s lookin’ to overthrow the Urayan queen cause she’s fat and lazy, proly marry himself off to you to get a deal out of it and I’m just looking to whoosh right in here and take over Torigoth, cause Architect forbid we’re just that kind of crazy criminals!”

At first, Morag had taken this as a serious threat, but as it degraded and Nia clearly was less and less interested and just yelling for the sake of yelling, the Imperial Inquisitor just let her go and do it. the part about Vandham, a mercenary leader from what she knew of the name, trying to overthrow Uraya and marry her was a bit of a creative curve ball but she actually shouldn’t have been surprised. Political marriages were still common, she’d had more offers than she cared to think about, and probably would end up in one eventually one day. It wasn’t Nia being cynical, it was just a jab at her and this Gormotti Driver’s idea of her.

With a sigh, Morag just sat back, crossing her arms, “Are you finished?”

“No,” the Gormotti woman grumped, slamming the feet of her chair down as she sat straight a moment and grabbed her drink, taking another good swig, “But it felt good to see you get all flustered and annoyed.”

Light brown eyes narrowed on the woman, “I may be annoyed but I wasn’t flustered.”

Gold eyes rolled, “Yea, sure,” she took another drink before setting the cup down hard, “So, we done? Got everything you wanted, ey?”

“Not quite,” Morag spoke lowly, looking at the table and organizing her thoughts, “I’m not your enemy, at least not right now.” Those sincere light brown eyes rose, taking the Gormotti Driver in seriously, “If anything I’m just curious what a legendary Blade and child Driver are doing and want to make sure my people are safe.” Nodding her head to reference around them, “Wouldn’t you?”

The question made Nia pause a moment, glancing around as her ears twitched, before she just stared at the table as well, “You don’t get it.”

Leaning in low, Morag got as close to the woman as she dared, legitimately concerned with how she was acting, “You could explain it?” unsubtly she slid her chair a bit over, closer to the woman, “As I said, I’m just a concerned citizen, nothing more, nothing less.”

For a moment that caused Nia to laugh, it wasn’t a happy sound, just something out of disbelief, “Still playing that card, ey?” when she turned to look at the woman scathingly, Nia finally realized how close she’d gotten and for a moment it legitimately surprised her, the fur on her ears sticking up as she quickly looked away, “What’s the deal, yer just a stranger…”

Giving her one last glance, Morag turned away, reaching over for her own drink and leaning back, took a quiet sip, clearly enjoying the liquor, “As someone once told me, sometimes it’s just easier to talk to strangers about things they’re not involved in…”

Gold eyes turned back to glare at the woman, “You just made that up.”

Light brown eyes looked sternly over her cup, “And what if I did?”

Against all her better judgement, this actually made Nia snort and smile with some amusement, “Damn you Ardainians are weird,” taking her mostly empty glass she felt the need to throw the woman something.

She held out her glass, mimicking the gesture Morag had tried earlier.

It surprised the Ardainian soldier, to have such a concession so easily, but she wasn’t going to turn it down. Reaching out with her glass she clinked the Gormotti woman’s cup and they both finished off their drinks.

Nia just sighed, setting the cup down and pausing for a long time, then she stood up and with a pout on her face addressed Morag without looking at her, “Thanks for the drink.”

Morag bit back her first response, asking why she was getting up and more importantly why she was leaving so soon. She had thought they’d made some progress, but clearly that was just a lie. Dissatisfied, Morag just stared at the table, absently nodding, “Thanks for the information.”

For some reason Nia lingered a while longer, not moving or turning towards her early morning companion. It was enough to pique Morag’s interest as she glanced up, watching some kind of internal struggle play out on the woman’s face.

Morag was concerned, but knew better at this point than to ask. They weren’t friends, weren’t really acquaintances, just two people that recognized one another from opposite ends of a battlefield. She should feel this painful tug at the idea.

“See ya,” and Nia finally left, with a small wave behind her.

That honestly surprised Morag, because it was as if she had actually acknowledged they’d spoken to one another, as not enemies and at the very least people.

“Ah, y-yes…” The Inquisitor gave a curt nod, not even sure the Gormotti woman heard her reply. She watched Nia go, perhaps staring longer than she should have.

It didn’t matter, it was highly unlikely they’d see one another again anyway…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stop staring at her ass Morag, its rude~ also could you BE anymore gay! XD
> 
> serious though, its weird playing with Nia being a total dick to Morag again, but its fun in its own way, seeing where we started to where we ended up, like i said previously, this was a BroShip for me until the end of Chap 5 or 6 where Nia saves Niall and Morag goes full berserker for her lil!Bro... and prior to this, Nia was SUCH a dick to Morag XD i mean, she was a dick back, but still~ 
> 
> ah, where else does love start~
> 
> also, am i the only one that noticed Morag is the ONLY ONE to agree with Nia about that stupid poster... clearly this ship set sail earlier than even i realized~ XD


	7. Responses to Blade Quests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were a lot of weird moments during their journey, particularly after dealing with one of their Blades' personal quests...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the New Game Plus patch came out... AND I AM SHOTGUNNING BLADE QUESTS AND OTHER STUFF I MISSED TO GET TO IT!! :D
> 
> there's so many little weird details in all these quests, and each one makes me just think 'Damn, feed me more Yuri Fodder Game! yea!' as almost always Nia and Morag are in the same frame and commenting with one another... the Shipping Goggles are strong! 
> 
> but yes, been having a lot of fun, so decided to do this... kind of a mix of my own responses to some of these quests (some can be really tedious... others just ridiculous!) and while my more HILARIOUS responses were for other Blades (omg Sheba ._.) i decided to focus on just Morag and Nia's Blades... cause they have a lot between them...
> 
> anywho! have fun! Blade Quest responses in no particular order!! :D
> 
> enjoy!

Responses to Blade Quests

Ursula

“That was a sweet concert,” Morag smiled lightly, looking out at the crowd in the open square of Alba Cavanich. Nia’s Blade Ursula had just finished her concert and while they’d had their conversation, apparently the extremely musically talented Blade was giving up music to continued helping them and inspired another musician.

“Yea, cute way to end it,” Nia rubbed her face, smirking as she glanced up at Morag, “And ta think, all this cause she was too shy to talk to me…”

“You can be quite intimidating…” That was not a snide comment and Morag was not hiding a light smirk behind her gloved hand, of course not.

The Gormotti woman nudged the taller Ardainian with her elbow, “Shut it.”

\-----

Finch

“No its Omulette, Fench!!”

“Its Finch, Omlette!!”

The little green bird girl was arguing with the female Tirkin and they’d been going back and forth about their names for twenty minutes now with the other Tirkins just dancing around squawking.

Twenty. Bloody. Minutes.

Morag had her face in her hand, while Nia was sitting next to her sipping her drink.

“Gotta say, didn’t think them birdbrains could go on ‘bout this long…” another long sip as her ears went back and her flat gold eyes watched the birdlike humanoids continue to prove their ineptitude, “Well, certainly… _surprised_ me.”

“I have to deal with this…” Morag seemed to be slinking lower and lower, “I have to deal with this every time I use her in battle…”

“I get the feelin’ this is why she’s off on Merc Missions a lot, Roc’s been complaining ‘bout babysittin’…” the Gormotti woman winced as the Tirkins seemed to forget what they were doing and started squaking again, “Yea… I don’t… yea, sorry ‘bout all this… it’s-it’s truly painful…” feeling more sympathy than she had for any other living being in existence, Nia reached out and patted Morag on the shoulder…

Which quickly became her back as the Ardainian woman collapsed completely onto the table in a show of uncanny break of her normally so pristine military presence. If Nia didn’t know any better she may have started hitting her head on the table.

Nia felt even sorrier for the woman if that was possible, “So, ey… ya wanna go get pissed till we can’t see straight or say no?”

Morag just held up her hand, as if saying ‘please drag me away’.

A fanged smirk as Nia grabbed that gloved hand and dragged the military woman out of her chair, away from this birdbrained party and they went down to the first deck to grab a few drinks and probably fall off a pier.

The last sentient thing Morag said, as they sat on the edge of the salvaging deck of the Maelstrom was, “I don’t want to remember any of this…”

Nia was all too happy to oblige.

\-----

Adenine

“So uh… you gonna be,” Nia waved her hand at her wind type Blade who seemed to be ignoring them again as she was trying to read as much information from this weird glowing room as possible, “okay? In here? All by yourself?”

“If you don’t mind Driver! I would stay watch,” Wulfric, of all people, marched up to Nia’s side as she was trying to get even a small response from Adenine. He looked to be smiling, as much as the black earth Beast ever did.

Gold eyes glanced from her large beastly Blade to the other and back, “You sure?” he grunted. Nia turned more towards Wulfric, hand on her hip and looking at him funny, “Won’t you get bored?”

“I like reading,” was all he said before taking a seat a few feet away from Adenine, the bookish Blade seeming to not even notice.

Nia just threw up her hands, “Alright? I’ll call you two if I need either of ya… got it?”

They were in their own little world, not even listening to her.

The Gormotti woman just glared with an obvious pout.

“Well, that was an interesting run about,” was a simple poke from Morag, clearly trying to get Nia to move or at least stop sulking.

The feline like woman just snorted, clearly not over being ignored by her own Blades, “Yea, fun bit there, running around… lookin’ for books…”

Morag just shrugged, holding out her hand, referencing the door and that they should leave.

Nia just pouted at the taller woman, arms crossed and got moving, “Yea, yea, I hear ya…” as she passed the Ardainian woman she obnoxiously pointed right in her face, “Shut it!”

Light brown eyes just rolled as Morag followed her out.

\-----

Wulfric

“AWOOOOOGHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!” the large beast Blade was howling and cheering, the Tantalese near him awkwardly smiling but clearly trying to get away.

“He seems… happy,” Was Morag’s clipped observation.

“He’ll be howling all night now,” Nia was looking at her Blade with a flat stare before shrugging, “But I guess we did good?”

The Imperial Inquisitor gave a similar shrug, “Well we avoided any more unnecessary deaths and now the Tantalese know better than to intrude on a Gongol’s territory… or threaten their families.”

“Yea, nice little ‘let’s be nice to the animals’ story there, ey?” there was a clear snort from the Gormotti woman.

Morag gave a little chuckle, “Well, it’s interesting to know he can talk to animals…”

“Learn something new every day,” again, another apathetic shrug from the Gormotti Driver.

Morag could only shake her head, not all of these little side quests could be that entertaining.

\-----

Godfrey

“Soooo…” Nia was holding out her hand as they were sitting at the bar at Anastasia’s, “We got picked on by some thug, spoke with a dancer, shook down the woman’s mother, found out she was a drug dealer, and saved Tantal from the same guy that started us on this bloody run about after he siced a bunch’a drugged up pooches on the Tantalese and he’s the one that gets all the credit cause all that bloody Justice and Passion talk he’s been spewing and we’re not going to say anything to the cops?”

“Nope,” stoically, Morag just took a sip of her drink, ignoring as Godfrey was very loudly and animatedly speaking to the crowd behind them.

“But, like, half of that stuff is a crime, yea?” looking utterly confused, Nia scratched her head, staring at the crowd.

“This coming from you?” there may have been a smirk on the Imperial Inquisitor’s face hidden by her glass.

Gold eyes glared back at her drinking buddy, “Shut it,” glancing back at the crowd, and how loud and intense Godfrey was… “Man, he’s a bit of handful init he?”

“Quite,” Morag set her glass down, pushing it away as she ordered another.

Turning back to the woman at the sound of glass sliding down the bar, Nia’s Gormotti ears twitched and her gold eyes stared flatly, “You, uh, wanna slow down there, ey?”

“Nope.” Was Morag’s only response as she grabbed her new drink and downed nearly half of it.

A smirk rose on the Gormotti Driver’s face, as she turned fulled towards the bar, Morag taking up all her attention, “Ey, now, he can’t be that bad?”

“Blue flames,” Morag put her now empty glass down and flatly stared ahead.

Nia swore she swayed a bit, “Blue flames?” one of her cream colored grey brows quirked.

“He said his fists are blue flames,” not even turning to Nia, Morag tried to flag down the bartender again, “He’s an ice type Blade but insists his fists are blue flames…”

A look of sympathy passed over Nia’s face, “Yea… I take it Brighid had fun with that?”

“I haven’t told her yet…” that gloved hand reached for another drink.

There was a snort, “Oh yea, that’ll be fun…”

\-----

Perceval

“Sooo…” Nia skipped up behind Morag as they were making their way through Alba Cavanich, “Perceval, he’s an interesting sort, ey?”

“Indeed,” the Imperial Inquisitor was adjusting her gloves.

Gold eyes gave the taller woman a side glance, “Soooo… not gonna say anything about the whole assassins thing?”

“They were handled and should be taken off by the proper authorities..” Morag was adjusting her gloves, not so much as sparing the Gormotti woman a glance.

One of Nia’s Gormotti ears flicked, “Nothing about how he used to be one? His whole assassinating thing?”

“As far as I’m aware, he’s not killed anyone since I released him,” still, Morag wasn’t so much as glancing Nia’s way.

Gold eyes narrowed, “Not going to look into that or anything?”

“As far as I’m aware, there is no crime commited so nothing to look into.” Now she had moved on to her sleeves, there was a piece of lint on them or something.

Nia’s gaze grew flatter, “Just… not even going to address it are you, ey?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Nia.” Was her final response. The Gormotti woman next to her just throwing her hands up in the air.

\-----

Newt

The whole group was standing up on the battlements after the failed assassination/training exercise. Most of them were standing around awkwardly while Newt was hopping from every bit of Ardainian tech within sight.

“She seems very…” Emperor Niall was scratching his head nervously next to his sister, “Enthusiastic.”

“She is quite the fan of our military technology,” Morag offered flatly for her younger brother.

Looking up at his sister, Niall tried to look sympathetic and cheerful, as the Emperor should. It would up looking more nervous, “She’s… not leaving, is she?”

Behind that Imperial issued visor, light brown eyes looked down at her little brother with true sympathy and a bit of weariness, “No, your Majesty, she is not.”

Niall gave a tight smile, trying to not look as queasy as he felt.

Nia had been standing on Morag’s other side throughout this entire exchange, and just started snickering.

“Shut it.” was Morag’s tightlipped response.

\-----

Daliah

“That was sweet,” Morag sat back comfortably at one of the tables at Anastasia’s, light smirk on her face as she saw the bunny like ice type Blade was showing off more of her ice crafting ability to the little girl they went off and saved.

“Sweet she says,” Nia had her head laying sideways on the table, ignoring the relatively adorable scene, “I got an eight year old that wants me dead for my ‘pretty’ Blade…”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” the smirk did not leave the Imperial Inquisitor’s face.

“I’ll be bloody well as dramatic as I want!” the Gormotti Driver sat up with a scowl on her face, ears back.

“Now, now,” the smirk would not leave Morag’s face as she crossed her legs, “You can’t say you’re scared of a little girl who likes one of your Blades…” Nia just grumbled in response, making the Ardainian woman shake her head, “Besides, Brighid told me you and Daliah had a nice chat back in Gormott, something about a promise to find true beauty?”

Nia looked like a sulking cat, “Brighid needs to learn to keep her mouth shut…”

“That’s not going to happen any time soon,” that may have come out a bit wistful, but Morag just shook her head and continued, “With a promise like that she’s not going to let you get killed by a scary little girl,” that smirk returned, “At least for now.”

“Shut it,” the Gormotti woman grumped and put her head back down on the table, “Hey, Morag…” gold eyes stared at the Ardainian woman long enough, waiting for those light brown eyes to look her way, “Ya think I’m  pretty?”

Red creeped up from under Morag’s collar and suddenly had a coughing fit.

\-----

Boreas

“Well that was… a thing,” Nia was tilting her head staring as the overgrown Nopon Blade was scarfing down enough food to feed an army.

“I had to steal my Emperor’s underwear…” Morag, who was sitting next to the Gormotti Driver, was being somewhat catatonic about the whole ordeal with her weird Blade.

Gold eyes gave the woman a sympathetic look, “Ey, c’mon, it was the easiest way to get… well…” she scratched behind her head, “this was all kind of ridiculous.”

“I had to steal my **_brother’s_** underwear…” if anything the Ardainian woman seemed to sink lower in her seat.

Nia cringed at that, “Yea…” she pat the woman’s shoulder, “there, there… want a drink?”

Morag bent over and buried her head in her hands, “I had to _steal_ my **_brother’s_** underwear…”

“I’ll get you a drink,” with another sympathetic pat, Nia ordered the poor woman the strongest thing they had available that Boreas hadn’t already scarfed down.

\-----

Electra

It was amusing watching Electra run around and play with the other kids in Torigoth.

“She’s certainly come a long way,” standing tall and ready with her hands behind her back, Morag watched on with a light smile, “I have to say, I’m quite impressed.”

“Shut it,” Nia half-heartedly chided, arms crossed and leaning to the side, “She used to shock me every time she gave me a hug, and with how excitable she is…” unconsciously the Gormotti woman shuddered, the hair on her ears standing on end at the memory.

There was a light chuckle from the Imperial Inquisitor, “I can see how that could be a problem…”

“Don’t even joke,” still shuddering, Nia rubbed her arms, “Now she can give old ladies nice massages but I still remember those shocks…” uncomfortably the Gormotti Driver just shook her head, “Nope, nope, nope!”

Morag stood awkwardly beside the smaller woman, her light brown eyes glancing down and then away a few times.

Sensing the nervous looks her way, Nia’s ears dropped and her eyes became gold slits she turned the Ardainian woman’s way, “What?”

There was an odd sound, something like a snort as Morag raised a gloved hand to cover her mouth and look away, “If you really wanted,” she coughed, a bit of red rising on her cheeks, “I could give you a message…”

Nia was red, no response to give.

\-----

Gorg

The crowd in Fonsa Mensa’s square was thinning out as the evening was approaching. Gorg’s new pastry shop was doing quite well for its grand opening, but now that it was the end of the day the customers were gone and the team could relax and leave the rest to Gorg and his new staff.

“Man, my throat’s sore from all that shouting,” Nia was rubbing her throat seated at one of the tables. Most of the team had just been advertising, pulling people off the street or shouting about how well the sweets were to get customers. At least with the grand opening out of the way they shouldn’t need to continue this job.

“Here,” a plate with a delicious looking dessert was placed in front of the Gormotti woman by a familiar gloved hand, “It tastes quite good if I do say so myself, should sooth your throat at least a bit.”

Nia’s ears perked as she watched Morag sit down next to her. Her gold eyes jumped from the Ardainian woman to the sweet confection placed in front of her. With a funny grin she picked up the fork and cake.

Morag watched her eat it, patiently waiting for some kind of response. When Nia only continued with that funny grin of hers, not saying a word, the Imperial Inquisitor knew something was up, “What?”

A snicker from Nia as her grin became extra cheeky, “You didn’t blow up the kitchen this time.”

“Shut it,” the Ardainian woman growled, crossing her arms.

“No, no, I’m just impressed,” Nia took another bite, looking smug as can be, “Maybe it’s just when Brighid’s involved you tend to set the whole kitchen ablaze, ey?”

“One time!” it took everything the military woman had not to shout, “It was one time and it wasn’t my fault!”

“Yea, like I said, musta’ been Brighid, clearly,” slyly Nia glanced at Morag with a devious smirk and that fork in her mouth.

There was just a grumble as Morag sunk further into her seat.

Nia just grinned, enjoying watching the woman sulk as she finished off the dessert, “Mm, tasty!”

\-----

Vale

“So we just saved the world from a crazy cult, yea?” Nia had her arms crossed, head tilted as she watched Vale watching the two Nopon talk.

“I believe the important part was that we returned a worried mother her daughter,” Morag appeared unaffected, standing tall and calm with her arms behind her back. This was of course a lie, as she kept glancing over at Nia, who still looked perplexed by the situation, while a line the Gormotti Driver told her Blade kept running through her head.

“What?” those cream colored grey ears tilted back as the shorter woman slowly turned towards the Imperial Inquisitor.

“I-its nothing,” now nervous, and caught, Morag idly scratched her chin.

Those gold eyes narrowed slyly, “Mmmhmm,” Nia leaned over to catch the Ardainian woman’s gaze, “C’mon, tell me what’s got you all stammerin’ and nervous like?”

“I’m not nervous,” Morag grunted, though clearly nervous. With a huff she crossed her arms, looking down and may have been pouting, “What you said about parenting…”

“Yea?” Nia leaned to the side, not seeing what the issue was.

“Do you often think about having kids?” finally came the blunt question, Morag’s light brown eyes watching the Gormotti woman intensely from the side.

With a start Nia about fell over, “Wait-what!?!” if she had a tail it would have been puffed and up straight like Dromarch’s when he was surprised. In haste, she turned to Morag, ears and eyes twitching, “Wh-wh-where you pick that up?!” then stomped her foot, trying to get control of this, “I-I was talking about that Ma alright! How clearly happy she was havin’ her kid back! That’s it! That’s it! I swear!!”

Morag just looked at Nia for a moment, then looked forward, “It was just a curiosity, no need to be so defensive…”

“I’M NOT DEFENSIVE!!” the short Gormotti Driver jumped, hands waving, trying to prove she was telling the truth. Though who she was trying to convince was anyone’s guess.

\-----

Agate

They were standing on the flight deck of the Argentum Trade Guild, leaning on the railing as Agate was having a few more rocks she’d dug up appraised.

“All this for a shiny rock,” gold eyes rolled as Nia leaned forward on the railing, turning from Agate to the woman leaning with her back on the railing next to her.

“There was also the matter of overcoming one’s fears,” Morag had a light smile on her lips, eyes closed and looking content.

There may have been a snort from the Gormotti Driver as she turned to look out at the cloud sea, “Can’t say I ever freaked out at bugs like that, though once she turned that to smashing ‘em with her axe, gotta say, pretty helpful.”

“It takes a lot to face one’s own fears willingly,” there was a shrug from the Imperial Inquisitor, “Much more courage when it is in pursuit of one’s dream…”

A cream colored grey brow rose as Nia slowly turned her head towards the woman, “I feel like you’re saying something I’m not hearing.”

A bit of a blush crept up the Ardainian woman’s face as she turned away, arms crossed and shoulders up a bit higher than they were before, “Just an observation, nothing more.”

A soft, if slightly cheeky grin made its way on Nia’s face, “Yea, yea,” as she casually leaned over towards the taller woman. Not quite setting her head on Morag’s shoulder, but close enough that their shoulders and arms touched.

\-----

Herald

The team was taking a break in Leftheria… after dragging Herald back out of the Spirit Crucible Elpys. The large mechanized dragon Blade was sulking, as much as she sulked, by sitting up on one of the cliffs, her mechanized body modded down, while her human portion stared off at the sky. Clearly she was trying to comprehend the events that brought them all here.

Morag was sitting on a bench, watching her Blade.

“Here,” Nia walked up to the Ardainian woman, holding out a mug of something warm.

“Ah, thank you Nia,” with a small smile Morag accepted the drink, holding it between both her hands as her eyes drifted back to her Blade.

With a flat look Nia just sat down next to her fellow Driver, perhaps a bit closer than necessary, but Morag didn’t seem to be paying attention. Glancing from the Ardainian woman to the mechanized dragon Blade, Nia couldn’t help but look on with sympathy, “She gonna be alright?”

A tight smile spread on Morag’s face for a moment, “It will take a while. She still concerned about going out of control.”

“Whew, yea,” Nia took a drink, kicking her feet nervously, “I mean, I hate being in that place with what it does to me, but Herald… even against us she didn’t seem to be holding back or having a problem from the ether drain.”

“It was affecting her,” that tight smile picked at Morag’s lips again as she turned to look at the drink in her hands, tapping her fingers, “That’s probably the only reason we’re still standing here.”

“Ey! You did good!” with a nudge to the other woman’s shoulder, Nia tried to cheer her up, “Can’t say I’d have been that calm, what with the kind of power she’s packing, holding back or not it’s still pretty intense.”

That smile became less tight, “It was nothing. I did make a promise, it is my responsibility to hold back her power,” Morag took a quick drink, still not sure what this was but it wasn’t terrible.

With a sympathetic smile Nia leaned on the woman, “Yea well, like we told her, you got the rest of us to help with that too.” Without thinking, Nia reached over and placed her hand on Morag’s, giving a cocky fanged grin.

Red rushed past the Ardainian woman’s cheeks. She could barely pass Nia a single look as suddenly this strange drink the Gormotti woman gave her was insanely interesting.

\-----

KOS-MOS

They were back at Anastasia’s, apparently they’d been here enough the owner knew their favorite drinks and had them out and ready before the two even sat down, giving a weird smile and wink.

Morag just tightly stared at the bartender as he went off to attend to someone else before carefully picking up her drink, taking a sip and turning to Nia who already had her head on the bar. The Ardainian woman didn’t even have to ask what was wrong…

“Why do small children want to kill me?” it almost sounded like Nia was crying. She wasn’t, just being overly dramatic.

Morag took another sip of her drink.

“First Daliah, now KOS-MOS? Why? What’d I do? I’ve been a good Driver, yea?” more whining as the Gormotti woman turned her head and grabbed her drink, more cuddling it than actually moving to drink it.

Her actions made the Imperial Inquisitor snicker, just a little bit, “You’re being dramatic again.”

“I am not!” she looked so small and silly with her head on the bar top.

That smirk would not leave Morag’s lips as she glanced sympathetically at her fellow Driver, “KOS-MOS said you were her primary concern, Astelle was secondary.” That was a bit of an embellishment, the battle android did seem to have an odd fondness for that strange cousin of Zeke’s.

There was more whining from Nia, only this time she seemed to shift closer to Morag, grabbing the Ardainian woman’s sleeve, “She wants to wander off with some kid that wants to strip down see how all her parts work! What the hell is that! And I’m sure she wants me dead so she can keep KOS-MOS for herself!”

Unable to really do anything else, Morag set down her drink and pat the Gormotti woman who was latched on her arm, “I think you’re taking this a bit too far.”

There was some unintelligible whining, not that Morag couldn’t understand it just didn’t bother letting her brain translate it. Nia was being overly dramatic and she hadn’t had her first drink yet. Apparently dealing with Astelle and KOS-MOS’ weird behavior had sent her into a bit of an existential crisis.

The Imperial Inquisitor gave a deep sigh, moving her hand to pet Nia’s ears as that tended to calm them both down, with a flat look on her face, “There, there,” she looked down at those blubbering gold eyes, causing a smirk to rise on Morag’s lips, “If any small children try to get you, don’t worry, I’ll be there to protect you.”

There was some kind of squeal as Nia all but set her head in Morag’s lap, “You’re being mean, stop it!”

Morag could only chuckle, as she continued petting the Gormotti woman’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't mind Finch... until i did her quest, now she's on permanent Merc Missions and now is responsible for why Morag drinks in my headcanon...
> 
> and Gorg, WHY DID YOU PUT MORAG IN THE KITCHEN?! JUST WHY?! ._. we've already established she can't cook to save her life... i can only reason his place didn't burn down was because Brighid wasn't involved, else it would have blown up XD
> 
> i thought it was hilarious that Nia seems to be the one with the Blades that have little kids wanting to off her for her Blades... also ASTELLE IS SHION!! WTF?! i mean, damn... like a 10 year old Shion, but that's definitely Shion ._. not fair game...
> 
> the only ones i didn't do were Brighid and Dromarch, as they're primary Blades and don't have quests, Ageneon doesn't have one or didn't need one to get S rank, and Kora... cause i haven't done hers yet XD
> 
> but yea... Sheba, wow... just wow...


	8. Kora and Nim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few more moments thanks to their unruly Blades...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am Yuri fangirl trash and i am sorry...

Kora part 1

Morag was walking out of her room when she saw Nia stumble into the hall. The Gormotti woman had a shell-shocked look and didn’t seem to notice where she was going.

“Nia?” a dark brow quirked as Morag walked up to her, curious about the look on her face.

Those cream colored grey Gormotti ears went back and if Morag didn’t know any better Nia’s gold eyes seemed to shimmer and get wider, “M-Morag…”

That whine was like a punch in the gut and immediately the Ardainian woman was at the Gormotti driver’s side, arms out and not sure what she should be doing, “Are you alright? What’s happened? Are you-eep!?”

Suddenly Nia just jumped on the sturdy woman, blubbering while holding onto her tight around the waist, “Everyone’s so bloody mean!!”

Stiffly, Morag looked down, embarrassment written all over her face and not sure what she should do… or more importantly where she should put her hands.

Nia didn’t seem to notice or care as she just rubbed her face in Morag’s stomach, “We was at that Saffronia tree, and everyone was jokin’ about secret crushes and the like, so I was just playin’ along yea?”

“Um-yes?” light brown eyes blinked, the embarrassment not leaving her face and still not sure what to do with her hands.

Those Gormotti ears twitched as Nia rubbed her face the other way, “So like, everyone’s sayin’ all this stuff, makin’ fun and Kora goes and gets on about how no one was confessin’ anything, yea!”

“I-um-alright?” red was creeping up the Imperial Inquisitor’s face as her arms finally lowered, hovering around the smaller woman’s shoulders.

“Well, see,” Nia looked straight up, setting her chin somewhat on the taller woman’s stomach and looking up past her chest, “I was jokin’ around, I didn’t really care cause… well, ya know…” her face got a bit red as her gold eyes glanced away and back up to the pale woman’s face a few times.

Red just covered Morag’s face and she was back to being stiff and unresponsive.

“So, like…” clearly embarrassed, Nia rubbed her face in Morag’s stomach again, not caring for how stiff she suddenly was, “As I was sayin’, just jokin’ around, said I was gonna confess, but everyone was acting like I was gonna confess to them! Though I think Brighid was worried I was gonna say something about you…”

“That,” there was a cough above the Gormotti woman, “Wouldn’t-I mean, would, would… probably… erm…” Morag scratched her red cheek, knowing her visor was useless at this angle.

One of those light brows quirked, Nia clearly not getting why Morag was acting weird, “Yea well, with all that done, Kora just snubbed the idea ‘bout confessions and decided to have a Bladies night!”

“A what?” now it was Morag’s turn to look confused.

“Erm, well… like Ladies Night… only female Blades…” Nia had her head tilted down, clearly trying to hide.

“Ah, I see…” finally figuring out what to do with her hands, Morag pet back Nia’s ears, causing her to look back up at tall Ardainian woman, “They didn’t invite you?”

Nia sniffled, “Kora said no Drivers…”

A smirk rose on Morag’s face, “and she wasn’t going to count you as a Blade… despite…” momentarily Nia turned into her Blade form and seemed to put on the extra pouty charm, “Well, yes, that…”

Turning back into her Driver form, Nia kept sniffling, “So yea… that…”

Rolling her eyes, Morag pet back her ears again, drawing Nia’s attention as a smirk appeared on the Imperial Inquisitor’s face, “Well, if all the ‘Bladies’ are gone…” she drew her finger under Nia’s chin, that smirk growing on Morag’s face, “Why not lets have an actual ‘Ladies’ night?”

Momentarily Nia opened her mouth as if to say something, then her eyes grew wide and her mouth shut, red rushing to her white marked cheeks.

Letting her go for only a moment, Morag leaned down, her hand still on Nia’s chin and smiled seductively through her visor, “They’re going to be gone all night and my room is free…”

There was some manner of squeal from the Gormotti Driver, “I-er-uhm… s-should we get some drinks first, ey?”

“Already in my room,” there may have been a wink from the Imperial Inquisitor as she stood curtly, turned heel and walked back towards her _private_ room.

Nia blathered something for a second before skipping into the woman’s room. Who knew being shot down would be such a good thing!

\-----

Nim

“Morag, you got a real problem with Blades running off,” was the first thing Nia said as they were both sitting under some blue coral trees in Leftheria while watching Nim regal a nest of Phonexes about the weird trip they’d just been on. Namely because of NIm.

“I don’t know what you mean?” was Morag’s clipped response, sitting comfortably watching her Blade speak to a bunch of chittering, screeching blue and red fox-things.

Gold eyes turned to glare at the Ardainian woman, then held out her hand, “Who was it first? Finch right? Off all around the Titans looking for that Countess. Then Godfrey doing his weird investigation. Then Perceval lookin’ for those Assassins. Boreas getting into a thief-off with some weird masked nopon!”

Unconsciously the Ardainian woman shuddered. She didn’t need to be reminded about that and what she had to do…

Not even noticing, Nia kept ticking off her fingers, “Then Agate wants to go dig up rocks everywhere, and Herald gets commissioned to blowup a bunch of flying critters on multiple continents only to run off on her own!!”

“I think I see your point,” Morag coughed into her hand, giving the Gormotti woman a side glance, “Though I don’t see why that matters so much? A number of your Blades required we venture to another continent as well.”

Gold eyes glared as those Gormotti ears were back, “Maybe one or two, Electra was the worst! But yours!” Nia threw up her hands, “Almost like every single one of them has the urge to go gallivanting about on EVERY continent they can get to yea!”

There had been an immediate response to contend the argument, but when Morag looked back at Nim and those screeching Phonexes… well, Nia had a point. “Hmm, never really noticed,” the Imperial Inquisitor sat back, hands in her lap as she leaned against the tree, “I’ve done so much traveling in my life I suppose I just don’t notice.”

One of Nia’s ears flicked as she scooted a bit closer to the woman, funnily enough looking down at her as Morag was more laying down under the tree then really sitting, “You don’t have anywhere you just want to stick around?”

Opening her eyes and peering up at Nia through the visor of her cap, Morag just shrugged, “I am the Imperial Inquisitor, I go where I am needed. I am the eyes and ears of the Emperor, I must be out in the world to help defend him from it.”

A small frown tugged at Nia’s lips as she looked away, “Wouldn’t you rather be there, at your brother’s side? Stick by him and protect him and all that stuff?”

There was a snort, “and deal with Senators and Generals all day preening in front of him? No thanks,” the Ardainian woman chuckled, amused by the funny look the Gormotti woman was giving her, “To be fair I go back between missions, but its only ever a few days, and sometimes I receive new orders while out on duty or on my way back so I just have to turn around and go back to work…”

“And you like that?” one of those cream colored grey brows quirked as Nia couldn’t help but look at the woman.

A funny little smirk picked at the edge of Morag’s lips, “It’s never boring.” Then she seemed to chuckle to herself as if realizing something, “No, scratch that, it can be QUITE boring…” once again she opened her eyes and looked up at the Gormotti woman’s white marked face, “But there are some nice advantages, I get to meet new people under _interesting_ circumstances.”

That caused Nia to snort indignantly and roll her eyes, “Yea, I’m sure meeting everyone on the other side of some fancy desk is just the _best_ way to meet someone.”

With another chuckle, Morag just shrugged, “As long as it’s not my desk.”

As ridiculous as that was, that did bring a fanged grin and chuckle to the Gormotti Driver’s lips, “Yer such a cad…”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Morag snarked, getting more comfortable in her position.

Nia gave her a look, shaking her head and glancing back up at Nim, the weird chimera Blade so excited to be talking with the Phonexes, “Still think it’s funny she thought it was all the fault of the ‘evil Ardainians’…”

“Shut it,” was Morag’s only response, pulling down her cap and pretending to be asleep despite all the screeching from the Phonexes and Nia’s laughter.

\-----

Kora part 2

It was about 1900 when the door to Morag and Birghid’s room burst open and quickly shut with a slam.

Turning from the provided vanity, Morag had been seated while Brighid had been brushing her lady’s hair. Both turned with some level of surprise at the intruder.

“Nia!” without even thinking the Imperial Inquisitor stood up and rushed to the Gormotti woman’s side.

Nia had burst into their room and just leaned against the door, sliding down it with a flabbergasted look and staring into the void.

Frankly it freaked out both the Flamebringer and Jewel of the Empire, Morag sending back a look to her Blade before crouching in front of the Gormotti Flesh-Eater and shaking her shoulder, “Nia, are you alright? What happened?”

Slowly, strangely, Nia tilted her head and seemed to just _look_ at Morag for a long second, almost like she was trying to recognize her, “Where the hell is your hat?!”

There was a snicker by the vanity, causing the black haired woman to look back with a mild glare at her Blade before addressing Nia again, “It’s on the bed if you must know,” Morag nodded towards her bed, where her hat was indeed sitting, “But that’s not what’s important,” she squeezed Nia’s shoulder sympathetically, “What happened? Why’d you come running in here?”

“I-ah-er…” the Gormotti woman’s ears dropped as she didn’t seem to have a proper answer, that or she was distracted by the intense look in the Imperial Inquisitor’s eyes unobstructed without her visor, “That’s ta say…” shaking her head, Nia tried to focus, “Sorry, just… so weird seeing you with your hair down, it’s really distracting me…”

Light brown eyes glared, “Nia.”

Clawed hands went up, “Fine, fine! I get it!” Nia had to look away a second, it was amazing how much of a difference it was seeing Morag with her hair down compared to her normal military standard look. “Right, I ran in here cause…” one of those Gormotti ears flicked, “Come ta think of it, why’d I run into **_here_** after all? Think I just got the wrong room…”

Brighid had her hand to her forehead and shaking her head while Morag just stared flatly at the smaller woman.

“Ey, ey! No need for the looks!” Nia had her hands up again defensively, scooting back a bit, trying to get up, “Was just… a bit rattled is all…” she distracted herself by making a play of dusting off her pants.

Light brown eyes narrowed on the Gormotti woman but all Morag could do was sigh and stand up as well, “Seeing as you’re already here,” she nodded back to Brighid, who nodded as well, before turning back to Nia, “Why not come sit down, calm your nerves a bit,” she turned around, marching back to the chair by the vanity and sitting down, “Then we can see if you want to talk about it then…”

“Uh, yea, sure,” gold eyes blinked as Nia followed Morag. She wound up sitting on the bed just across from the vanity, part of her curious to watch what the Flamebringer and her Blade were doing at this hour.

Morag tried to ignore that feeling of someone staring at her, closing her eyes and trying to just relax like this was any other night. Brighid just shrugged, grabbing the brush and going back to brushing her Driver’s hair.

This worked for about all of a second.

There was the sound of kicking from the bed.

Cracking open one eye, the Imperial Inquisitor stared at the fidgety Gormotti woman on her bed, “what?”

Nia tilted her head, “Nothing… just watchin’…”

Light brown eyes glared through the mirror, “Must you watch so _loudly_?” there may have been a smirk on the blue flame Blade that Morag spotted in the mirror, sending Brighid a look that clearly said ‘shut it’.

Gold eyes animated rolled, “Jeez, sorry,” Nia brought her legs up, sitting cross legged on the bed, propping her head on one arm on her knee, trying to stop fidgeting, “Soooo…?”

“So what?” the Imperial Inquisitor crossed her arms.

“Sit up straight, Lady Morag,” Brighid lightly chided as her Driver slouched the slightest bit.

There was a cheeky snicker from the bed. Morag glared through the mirror as she did what Bighid said, “Weren’t you supposed to be telling us why you ran in here?”

“Eheh… yea…” Nia scratched one of her ears, looking away, “Well… see, it’s still kinda weird…”

“Well if it makes you that uncomfortable…” light brown eyes rolled.

Gold eyes glared through the mirror, “Shut it,” Nia’s eyes narrowed further when she saw a small smirk pick up on the Imperial Inquisitor’s face, “Ugh, fine!” she crossed her arms, “So I went down to Anastasia’s right, and Mythra and Kora were sitting there going on about that stupid ‘Girl Power-Off’ they was talking about earlier…”

“What in Alrest is a ‘Girl Power-Off’?” blue brows quirked as Brighid paused, staring at the Gormotti Driver through the mirror.

“Right?!” Nia threw her hands up, “So they’re talkin’ about, I dunno, wasn’t really payin’ attention and they call me over to ‘judge’ this thing? Like how am I supposed to do that when I’m…?”

That smirk on Morag’s lips grew more, “When you’re you?”

“Shut it!” those gold eyes glared, “Not like you’re really one to talk!”

A dark brow quirked in the mirror, “Oh?”

A bit of an embarrassed blush crept up Nia’s cheeks at the look, it was weird seeing Morag without her hat and hair down. It definitely made the argument she was a hair’s breath away from making seem useless, “I-er-well…” glancing away, “Just gonna ignore that,” a quick look back, “So they was talking…”

“They were talking about what?” Morag looked smug in the mirror, Nia swore she looked smug.

That blush crept up Nia’s face again as she adamantly looked away, “Can’t remember what they were saying in the beginning, kinda tuned it out,” it sounded like there was a snicker, “But then Kora got bored and turned back on me and starts going on about something and trying to say some weird stuff about Dromarch!!”

Both Brighid and Morag shared a look, getting a bit more serious than they were a moment ago. The blue flame Blade was the one to openly frown and turn to Nia instead of watching her through the mirror, “Why would they bring up Dromarch?”

“Right?!” with a big shrug and confused look on her face Nia had her hands up, “She was asking me about why he calls me ‘Lady’ and stuff?!”

Morag finally turned in her chair to look at the Gormotti woman, seeing as Brighid wasn’t brushing her hair anymore. Both Ardainian Driver and Blade shared another look, the Imperial Inquisitor crossing her arms and leaning back in the chair as she looked at the other Driver, “Why would they be asking something like that?”

“Hell if I know?!” Nia looked absolutely confused.

Brighid propped her chin on one hand, “Why does he call you ‘My Lady’?”

One of Nia’s ears twitched, “Not you too!” when Brighid gave her a look like she wanted an answer, Nia just glared, “I don’t know! I’ll tell you what I told them! He just came out of his core crystal like that! First thing he’s callin’ me ‘My Lady’ and he’s been like my butler or a parent since!”

“Ah, I see…” Brighid nodded, seeming to pick up something the Gormotti woman clearly didn’t, “Kora was probably trying to insinuate something. She seems quite obsessed with certain concepts of romance…” the blue flame Blade glanced back at the Imperial Inquisitor, “Particularly between Drivers and their Blades…”

There was what sounded like a strained growl from Morag, “Let’s not bring that up again.”

Gold eyes flashed between the two confused, one of Nia’s ears twitching, “Why? What’s-!!” then another thought came to mind, her eyes widening, “Oh what the bloody hell!! She was tryin’ say Dromach and I got a thing goin’ on?!”

“In the same sense of what you and Lady Morag have going on,” somehow Brighid could make setting down a brush and walking across the room seem snide, smirking over her shoulder at the two Drivers, “Quite unsubtly I might add.”

Nia was red and sputtering, and while Morag was just as red, her glare kept her reaction in check. The Imperial Inquisitor frowned at her Blade, “Brighid would you mind scouting out the situation?”

That damn keen eyed Blade was indeed being snide, “If that is what my Lady requests,” Brighid did a little curtsy, smirking, before leaving.

“I hate it when she does that,” was Morag’s response when the door closed. When she glanced over at Nia the Gormotti Driver was still blushing intensely and now staring at the floor. “Nia?”

“Dromarch’s like my Da?” she glanced up at the Ardainian woman, “I mean, like… well he was my Da’s Blade before…” her ears drooped.

Feeling sympathetic, Morag got up and moved to sit next to the smaller woman on the bed, “You don’t have to say anything.”

“No…” Nia shook her head, “It’s not that…” she shrugged, “It’s just so weird… like why would they ask about any’a that or say anything so… so weird?!”

There was a deep sigh from the Imperial Inquisitor, “I have no idea. Those types of ‘girls’ never made much sense to me…”

Nia snickered, bumping her shoulder against the Ardanian, “Not attracted to those types, ey?”

It sounded like there was a bit of a grumble from the Ardainian woman, “Shut it,” she was just blushing a tiny bit, not much, not really…

“Hehe,” Nia was back to smirking and kicking her feet, “So, yea… they were talking weird and I just had to get out of there…”

“So you ran into my room?” sly light brown eyes looked at the Gormotti woman.

It seemed Nia was making a point to not look at Morag, “Told you, wasn’t looking where I was goin’, and went into the wrong room…”

Morag just shook her head, looking away as well, “Well, if that’s how you feel…” with seemingly a huff, the Ardainian woman stood up, hands on her hips.

“Hey, hey! C’mon!” swiftly Nia grabbed her hand and pulled her around, “I was just-!!” she stopped when she saw the look on Morag’s face, “You’re messing with me!”

“Perhaps a bit,” with a smirk Morag looked down at the smaller woman, “Feeling better?”

Looking up with her ears back, Nia nodded, “Yea, think so…”

Morag smiled, petting back the Gormotti woman’s ears a moment before stepping back to the mirror, buttoning up her coat and grabbing a clip to put her hair back up.

Blinking surprised, Nia shot up and came up behind the woman, “Ey! What you doin’?!” she was just getting used to seeing the Imperial Inquisitor with her hair down!

Light brown eyes glanced at the smaller woman through the mirror, finishing putting her hair up, “I thought it would be a good idea to see how the ‘Girl Power-Off’ was going.” Something sinister entered the woman’s eyes, “Perhaps teach them something about proper conduct.”

“R-right,” that look on Morag made Nia a bit nervous, “Don’t suppose you’re rather just… cuddle or something?” the Gormotti woman had her hands out with a funny smile on her face.

The look on Morag’s face said she didn’t really believe Nia’s request.

“What?” those gold eyes blinked, then amped up the cuteness, “You don’t believe me?!

Morag gave her a long look, then pulled the pin out of her hair and it fell back down, “If I hear anything else I’m going down there.”

Nia just gave a wide grin, “I’m sure they have more sense than that,” she waved her hand, “Not like they’re going to stay up all night running people off because they’re overly competitive over such a petty thing…”

Light brown eyes just gave Nia a look, “You have met Mythra, correct?”

Nia had her hand up as if to say something, then just put it down, “Yea, you’re right,” she pouted for a moment, ignoring Morag’s smirk, then looked at the bed, “Soooo…”

“Yes, yes,” unbuttoning her jacket Morag just rolled her eyes. Hopefully Brighid would take a nice long walk tonight… and Mythra and Kora wouldn’t stay up too late with their foolishness.

\-----

A few hours later…

“MY PRRRRIIIIIIINNNNCCCCCEEEE!!!” was heard down the hall. Nia’s ear flicked but she was too warm and comfortable to get up.

\-----

Some more hours later…

“Ugh! I can’t believe those two jerks!!” there was audible stomping past the door. Nia just nuzzled closer to the warm thing in her arms, it was soft, and warm, and inviting… why did weird voices have to keep dragging her out of this comfortable bliss?

\-----

Another hour or so later…

“The nerve!!” suddenly the door slammed open and the weird sound of something floating in followed by a haughty voice, “To think such peasants would ask US such a ridiculous thing! A man is only worth his wealth to us and we only have eyes for-OH WHAT IS THIS?!” Sheba slid in her water bathtub, coming up to the edge and looking on the scene with starry eyes.

Apparently in her haste she had wondered into the wrong room… as there were only two beds and one of them had both delicious female Drivers cuddled up on it.

“Now this is more our fancy!” Sheba waved her floating water tub closer…

“Come any closer and I will pull out Herald’s canon and vaporize you,” there was a distinct growl in the Inquisitor’s voice as she opened one eye and glared with all the menace she had at Zeke’s princess-like Blade.

“Oh my!” Sheba jumped back into her tub and skirted it back to the door, turning back only a moment at the Ardainian she-beast, “Our offer still stands!!” something was thrown at her and she did not care to stick around to examine it as Sheba made a hasty exit down the hall.

Apparently it had been Morag’s hat, as the sleepy Inquisitor tried to get up to retrieve it, let alone close the door.

“Mmmrphno…” there was a grumble as small arms with distinct claws at the end held her in place and pulled her closer.

“Nia, my hat…” was Morag’s poor attempt to argue with the asleep Gormotti. Her only response was more unintelligible growling and a tighter grip. Clearly Morag wasn’t rescuing her hat any time soon.

\-----

A couple more hours later…

As Brighid came down the hall, after sneaking back into the Inn from the back as to avoid the ‘Girl Power-Off’ she could STILL hear going on, the blue flame Blade came upon a weird sight.

Lady Morag’s hat was sitting in the hall and their door was wide open.

Perplexed, Brighid reached down to pick up the poor abandoned piece of clothing and turned to the open door.

Morag was on her bed, wide awake, with Nia cuddling her and glaring at her Blade.

An all too pleased with herself smile played across Brighid’s face, “I take it you haven’t been able to _enjoy_ yourself as much as you’d like, Lady Morag?” she quietly closed the door, moving to hand the hat back to her Driver.

Morag took it back with a scowl, moving as much as Nia’s asleep form would let her, and sat up, putting it on, “Are they still up?”

That smile got a tad more charming as Brighid sat on the other bed, “Last I heard, yes they are.”

“Good.” Something sinister came over the Ardainian woman’s features, “I intend to give them some _advice_ …”

Brighid just chuckled lightly into her hand, watching as her Driver shimmed her way out of an apparently very grabby-in-her-sleep Nia and set about looking inspection ready in record time before leaving. Lady Morag apparently had a mission, and Brighid couldn’t wait for the results.

\-----

About an hour later…

There was some kind of whimper from the bed as Nia couldn’t find that comfortable warm thing she’d been snuggling all night.

Brighid had been watching her while her lady was gone, finding the display of the Gormotti woman searching for her Driver in sleep both adorable and sad. Taking pity on her, the blue flame Blade sat on Lady Morag’s bed and took on of her clawed hands. Nia made a face like that wasn’t what she wanted but went back to relatively comfortable sleep.

The door opened soon enough, quietly, as Morag slipped back in. Nothing about her continence appeared victorious, if anything she looked a bit more annoyed than when she left.

“Went well, I take it?” Brighid raised a blue brow at her Driver, trying to get some commentary.

Morag just paused on her way to the vanity with a minute frown, taking off her hat and setting it down, reaching up to pull her hair pin out, “I can only lecture them so much about the merits of good habits and proper discipline before even my voice starts to run out.”

A charming smile picked up on the blue flame Blade’s face, “Giving them the boot camp run down?”

The Imperial Inquisitor just shrugged, taking off her jacket and sitting down to remove her boots, “If they were Ardainian Blades this never would have happened…”

“If we were only dealing with Ardainian Blades a lot would never happen,” that smirk on Brighid’s pale face was a bit snide, as she glanced back at the sleeping Gormotti woman on her Driver’s bed who was still holding her hand.

There was a light sigh from the Ardainian woman as she seemed to just drop all pretense. With nearly all the vestiges of her military identity removed, Morag just looked like any other Ardainian woman, the stiffness and rigidity of her form gone now that the uniform wasn’t holding it up. Her light brown eyes went from her Blade to Nia and back, “You’re dismissed, Brighid.”

The blue haired woman gave a little smirk, patting Nia’s hand before letting go and moving to her own bed. She found it cute to watch her Driver be so vulnerable, moving towards her own bed cautiously, sitting down and seeming to become solely aware of the adorable Gormotti woman on it.

Brighid could only shake her head, laying down, “Now it’s been a long night and I’d like to get some sleep if you don’t mind, Lady Morag,” she turned back with one last chiding smile, “Please don’t do anything unworthy of your station while I’m still here.”

Light brown eyes glared at the demurely snide Blade, “I’ll keep my pants on.” She didn’t even wait for some witty comeback or smirking look, just getting into bed and letting Nia cuddle her. There were only a few more hours left, hopefully she could get enough sleep.

\-----

A few more hours later…

“One of these nights the black sun will rise and they will all see…” started a grumpy voice down the hall, there was the sound of the door opening to one of the other rooms, “Oh! I’m back before my Driver, nice!”

- _That sounded like Vale’s voice…_ \- one of Nia’s Gormotti ears flicked. – _What she mean back before me… I’m right… here…?_ \- gold eyes opened slowly, picking up the low light of early morning. She didn’t recall what happened last night in the early morning haze, but that was probably one of the best sleeps she’d had in a while… so warm and comfortable… especially for Tantal…

Reflexively, Nia stretched, yawning with her ears back, enjoying this nice warm spot.

What she was not expecting was arms to wrap around her and squeeze her tightly… and slip up and down in the open parts of her jumper.

There was some manner of squeal as the Gormotti woman shot up, gold eyes wide and looking down at what just grabbed her. She’d gotten used to sleeping in a bed by herself, but out in the wilds she was used to sleeping with Dromarch right there so contact never disturbed her sleep before. But that wasn’t fluffy nor big paws.

It was Morag, her hair down in her face asleep, with her undershirt open and pants still on. That looked terribly uncomfortable to sleep in. Her brows were low and her hands were reaching out grabbing for her. It took very little effort for the sturdy Ardainian woman to pull Nia back to her and curl up around her.

Suddenly Nia felt very small, surrounded by the woman’s warmth and size. She was really tempted to just fall back asleep…

“Damnit, I have to get up!” It was like fighting a vice trying to get Morag’s arms off her, but eventually Nia got them wide enough to slip out. If Vale was heading back to their room then it was dawn… and she would be DEAD if anyone caught her slipping out of Morag’s room!!

There was a groan from the Ardainian woman as she seemed to be looking for Nia in her sleep.

It was so cute, Nia could hardly resist as she rolled off the other side of the bed, quietly tip-toeing around and pushing back Morag’s loose hair, “Sorry, but gotta go,” there was a frown on the Ardainian woman’s face at that. Nia couldn’t help but lean down and kiss her cheek, hoping she’d just go back to a comfortable sleep.

One of Nia’s ears twitched as she stood back up straight, feeling something wrong. Glancing behind her she saw Brighid asleep on the other bed… at least she looked asleep, it was really hard to tell since she kept her eyes closed all the time.

“C’mon, stop being paranoid,” quickly shaking her head Nia crept towards the door…

“You might want to zip up before you leave,” was the quiet advice from Brighid’s bed.

Nia went stiff, turning around just enough to see that damn blue flame Blade smirking as otherwise she hadn’t moved. Looking down the Gormotti woman did remember her jumper was undone, “Shite!” quickly she jumped over to the vanity and fixed herself up, finding her hood and putting that back on, then rushing for the door once she was presentable.

“Your welcome!” Brighid snickered from her bed, enjoying the last minute look of Nia glaring at her as the door shut, since the Gormotti woman couldn’t very well shout back without giving herself away.

\-----

One more hour later…

Morag woke up scowling, her hand reaching out and finding nothing.

Brighid was already up and arranging her uniform, making sure everything was ready for the day. There was a soft smile on the blue flame Blade’s lips when she noticed her Driver moving, “Good Morning, Lady Morag.”

A frown spread on the black haired woman’s lips, taking a moment to herself, breathe in deeply then sigh, sitting up on the edge of her bed, “Morning, Brighid.”

Watching her Driver, the Jewel of the Empire decided to not dig into her this early about her nocturnal affairs, “I have everything ready for you.”

Morag was putting her boots on and glanced over at her primary Blade, noticing everything was packed and ready for the day, “I see.” Once finished she stood up and walked to the vanity, quickly putting herself together, “Anything to report?”

That brought a snide smirk to the blue haired woman’s face, “That Girl Power-Off is still going on if I’m not mistaken…” light brown eyes turned to her with an intense glare, it had Brighid hiding her soft giggles behind her hand, “It seems Mythra and Kora still haven’t determined a winner…”

Morag closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, held it and let it out, her eyes opening to something dangerous and fierce as she held up her hand putting on her gloves, “I think it’s time we end this and teach them both proper conduct.”

“Of course, Lady Morag!” Brighid wasn’t smirking or skipping, that would be unseemly. And it certainly wasn’t at the idea of her Driver enacting beautiful revenge on her rival from 500 years ago.

\-----

“This is so embarrassing…”

“Oh lighten up! We both just have to get through this together!!”

The light type Aegis groaned while the electric fist-fighter was getting into their little show.

“I’ve got to say Morag,” Nia was grinning from one furry ear to the other as she sat next to the Imperial Inquisitor down at one of the tables in Anastasia’s, handing the woman a drink, on the house according to the bartender, “This has to be the best plan you’ve ever had!”

There was a light, certainly not smug, smile on the Imperial Inquisitor’s face as she humbly accepted her drink, “Why thank you Nia,” she sat back, properly with her legs crossed and watched with the others as Kora and Mythra were forced to dance thanks to their stupid bet, “And I don’t know what you mean by plan, this is just following the rules of their arrangement. They both forfeited, so they both lost, therefore they both must deal with the consequences.”

“Yea, sure,” the Gormotti woman just couldn’t stop grinning as she sat in the chair next to Morag backwards, setting her head on the back rest and enjoying the humiliation of the Aegis and one of her more difficult Blades, “That’s the _oooooonly_ reason you got those two dancing,” a gold eye cracked open and eyed the Ardainian woman slyly, enjoying the small bit of color she could see picking up on her cheeks as she watched the scantily clad Blades dancing.

Morag didn’t quite frown, her lips just thinning as she adamantly faced away from Nia, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Cheeky git,” Nia was chuckling behind her drink as she brushed her hand on Morag’s leg, enjoying as she got even redder.

“Don’t ruin this,” was as far as Morag could process. She knew if she did anything she’d bring attention to Nia’s hand on her leg, best to just ignore it, nothing was there… nothing happened… good, clean thoughts.

Nia just chuckled again, squeezing her leg again before taking it back to prop up her head, “I don’t know what yer talking about, Imperial Inquisitor Hothead.”

Despite herself, Morag gave a small chuckle, “Shut it.”

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i was halfway through Kora's second part when i realized i forgot Nim Q.Q i love Nim! she's adorable! especially on Morag! how could i!?! 
> 
> welp, here's their bits... and oh boy, i loved Kora's bit of crazy, thanks for everyone telling to do it!! so many questions came to mind!! like Morag! why are you up at 3am and why do you know what happened to NIa!! :D Nia why are you being super-sketchy at 6am!! you look like you're trying to hide!! :DDD AND MORAG THAT WASN'T AN ANSWER AND YOU KNOW IT YOU MASTER OF DECEPTION!! XD
> 
> also Nim, you're adorable... lets just ignore that you totally blamed Mor Ardain, and therefore Morag, for all that stuff with the Phonex and never apologized XD
> 
> eh, i'd ship it! got Kora and Nim together, they should keep wreaking havoc together... i can see it~ XD
> 
> either way, for once the game threw Morag a femininity bone and she totally won that Girl Power-Off...


	9. Things Left Unsaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small moment watching the sun rise in a new land...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> meant to be after Fireworks, just randomly did something cute and fluffy while working on all this angst~ :P

Things left unsaid

Elysium was a beautiful place.

A beautifully sad, empty, place.

It had only been a few weeks since the fall of the World Tree and the Titans laying down to rest and already the nations of Alrest were sending out scouting parties to explore the new landmass, dubbed Elysium.

It was appropriate, in Morag’s opinion. The new landmass discovered under the cloud sea was massive, impossibly large, several times more than the largest Titan continent and they couldn’t see it all. The small Titan vessels they were used to using for transport couldn’t get very far away from the salt water ocean, there was no support for them to ‘glide’ through in this new sky, so any excursions were on foot for now.

Uraya and Mor Ardain, as the ‘largest’ countries from Alrest had their armies expanding out into the territory. So far things were peaceful but they were exploring two different directions of the land mass. Tantal was sending some people out but they weren’t as funded or equipped as the larger countries and many of the Tantalese just joined the Ardainian or Urayan expeditions.

As the Imperial Inquisitor, it was only natural Morag went out into this new land and explored for her Emperor and country. She had spent the time since the fall of the World Tree reporting on their journey, what happened, what they’d found, explaining to senators and generals alike that she had **_literally_** spoken to the Architect herself, seen the edge of the heavens and watched the most powerful Blades clash and die. She was sure the others were telling this story to their own countries, or whoever would listen as well, while also cleaning up the damage from Indol and the world literally crashing down.

Then there was also Nia.

Despite the long hounding days having to explain **_EVERYTHING_** she had witnessed over and over as well as going through reports of Ardainian losses and other threats… she was grateful for the Gormotti Flesh-Eater.

Nia offered to stand with her during her own ‘interrogations’ from senators and generals, but Morag refused. Indol may have been gone, Torna gone, but there were still prejudice towards the very concept of Flesh-Eaters and Blade-Eaters. Some of the old bastards wouldn’t understand or accept what Nia was, let alone her role in the story… and now in Morag’s life.

To put it simply, she wanted to protect her lover from the reality of her life.

Being part of the Ardainian royalty carried with it a lot of expectations and scrutiny, Morag was lucky her brother, the Emperor, actually liked Nia and was more than willing to extend his protection and influence to the Gormotti Flesh-Eater.

Nia was still… skittish around anyone that wasn’t Morag, keeping quiet when she met the young man, but he’d smiled at her, accepting her immediately and thanking her for what she had already done for his sister, and Mor Ardain.

She nearly hit him for so much as hinting at what had happened in Indol and it took quite a bit of explaining on Morag’s part to have Nia NOT carted off by Niall’s current bodyguards.

Morag trusted the woman with her life, more than once laying at death’s door only for her to bring her back, and she would defend her with every ounce of breath she had… many in the Mor Ardain court were starting to recognize this.

Niall gave his sister the mission to explore Elysium because not only could he see the rising threat to his sister’s new relationship, but he could also see she was getting antsy from being stuck in Mor Ardain for too long. Nia was surprisingly decent at keeping his sister sane and felt he should ‘reward’ the both of them.

So they were out here, in this beautiful green continent… that was surprisingly devoid of anything more than a few insects and plant life.

“KOS-MOS says soon enough life from Alrest will settle here,” behind Morag, Nia walked up in her Driver form, hands crossed over her chest and seeming awkward as she approached the sitting woman.

“Sounds like something she would say,” Morag smiled back momentarily, conscious of Nia moving closer but turning back to the sunrise over the foreign land. That small smile growing as she felt the Gormotti woman sitting down behind her on the small grassy hill, leaning into her back and nuzzling as close as possible against the cold morning air.

“Its boring as hell out here,” Nia groaned as she tried to get under the Ardainian woman’s arm.

Morag could only look down at her wryly, “You just said your Blade said it was going to get more interesting,” she waved a gloved hand, ignoring as Nia managed to get her upper body into her lap, “Given time.”

Nia grumped, setting her chin on Morag’s knee along with her arms, “I only understand half of what that crazy Blade says,” she wiggled into a more comfortable position, “Something about migration patterns and population expansion, I don’t know…” one of her Gormotti ears twitched in clear annoyance.

A smile passed over the Imperial Inquisitor’s face as she couldn’t help but pet the woman’s irritated ear back, chuckling in the back of her throat. Nia could still be thorny and it was something Morag was getting used to, but something about it told her that the Gormotti Flesh-Eater was comfortable. Leaning down she kissed her ear, smiling as it flicked again and as she was pulling back she could see the red forming on her white marked cheek, “You’re blushing.”

“Don’t go sayin’ it, ey.” It made her blush more.

“It’s cute,” Morag said as if it was a common observation, a simple truth the woman knew.

Nia’s eyes flicked towards up towards Morag a moment, then back down to the ground, the blush not leaving her white marked cheeks, “This is still weird…” absently she reached out, picking out blades of grass from the ground.

Gloved hands just passed through her cream colored grey hair and ears, “I know…”

Gold eyes flicked up a second, blush still not receding, “So, ey… um…” they flicked back down to the ground, “Do we, um, there anything… anything we have to do now? Like… officially?”

A smirk picked at Morag’s lips, “Are you proposing to me, Nia?”

“I-Agh! Um… no?” she turned suddenly, facing Morag directly while keeping her head in Ardainian woman’s lap. The blush hadn’t gone away, in fact it increased with how wide her eyes had gotten and she looked absolutely terrified, “That’s not-That’s-I? bah!” forcefully crossing her arms she pouted, closing her eyes and turning away, “That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

“You were the one asking about ‘official’ things,” a light chuckle escaped Morag’s throat at the way she was acting. It was childish and a bit cute, but at the same time… a bit worrying, “But… no, there’s nothing saying either of us has to… ‘officially’ do anything, like announce our relationship or get married…”

“Pfft,” Nia snorted turning to her side again, “Think those senators might have a problem with that, yea?”

A tight smile played across Morag’s lips as she stayed quiet a tad longer than usual, “It… it might be better if I’m not ‘officially’ engaged to anyone…”

“What?” gold eyes turned back to the Ardainian woman, ears back a bit annoyed as underneath all that bluster in Nia’s eyes was something a bit worried, even sad.

“Nia,” with a light sigh Morag pet her annoyed ears back, “I’m the Emperor’s sister, the illusion of me being available and unobtainable is a powerful bargaining chip politically,” her thumb rubbed those soft Gormotti ears, “In the future… I… it’s always been a possibility, a certainty, that I would get married for politics, not my own desires…”

The Gormotti woman’s ears flicked as she faced away again. Clearly annoyed but Morag could tell she understood what was meant.

“Besides,” she ran her hand through that cream colored hair again, forcing Nia to look at her again, “It hasn’t been a month, I think you need time to get used to the idea of having me as your Driver first before proposing…”

Nia turned swiftly and punched the larger woman in the shoulder, pouting and an inch away from growling at her, “Watch it.”

Morag just chuckled, amused by pushing her, “It’s true,” she leaned down at kissed the Gormotti woman’s cheek, “Don’t push yourself, we’ve got all the time in the world…”

An undignified snort, “Yea, especially now that it’s not crashing down on us, ey?”

Morag smiled at the cute Gormotti Driver in her lap, “Don’t ruin this…”

“I’m not!” Nia grumped, nuzzling further into the woman’s lap and ignoring that her cheeks were burning.

Nudging her head, Morag managed to kiss her lips this time, speaking directly to them, “and don’t rush yourself,” she rubbed Nia’s ears softly, “This is… very new for both of us…”

“I know, its just…” gold eyes flicked to the stalwart woman then back to her lap, “I-I’ve never… I dunno what to think now, all these thoughts…” shyly her eyes rose to Morag’s, “Like… a future, yea?”

A strained but happy smile pulled at Morag’s lips, “Why do you think just… letting out my interest in you was so hard,” she pet back those Gormotti ears, “I… I didn’t want to hope…”

“Only to have to let go, ey?” Nia finished for her, leaning up, pressing herself to the woman’s chest comfortingly, “Brighid might have mentioned something…”

“Of course she did,” there was a deep sigh from the Ardainian woman as she wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, needing and appreciating her comfort, “I don’t want to lose you again, Nia.”

Clawed hands clung to the woman’s uniform, “I don’t want to go.”

It was the closest Morag had gotten to Nia saying ‘I love you’ but that was fine. She knew how the Gormotti Flesh-Eater felt, truly, and understood where they stood with each other. There were… so many things left unsaid, not because they weren’t worth it, but more so neither could bring themselves to verbally get it out.

If she said ‘I love you’ to Nia, the Gormotti woman would smile in a way only Morag had ever seen, look happy, vulnerable, and cling to her. Nia’s actions spoke where her mouth refused, and to Morag there was something meaningful in that. Words she couldn’t express in any other way, and only Morag got to see it.

Kissing her head, she smiled, whispering to those feline ears, “I love you, Nia.”

She felt the Gormotti woman tremble, clinch her hands on her jacket, raise her head and open her mouth as if trying to say something… but only ended up clinging to her tightly, pressing her face into Morag’s neck, claws around her back holding on tight…

A blush crept up Morag’s cheeks… the nipping at her neck was new.

With a yelp, Morag was pushed back into the green grass and Nia loomed over her, frowning in a way that was clearly aimed at herself as she looked the Ardainian woman in the eyes, “I’ll say it… one of these days…”

Morag just smiled lovingly, raising her hand to rub Nia’s cheek and guiding her closer for a kiss, smirking as they separated, “Perhaps then I’ll say ‘I do’…”

Pulling back Nia was blushing, ears flat back and there was such a desperate need and desire in her gold eyes.

The important thing was that Morag could read her and understood the woman she had fallen in love with… knew how difficult these feelings were and patient with her about them. There were still so many things they didn’t understand about Flesh-Eaters, and Nia being one of the last few remaining left few they could ask about these kinds of things. Human emotions were intense, and Nia had admitted to her how difficult it was dealing with them… Morag had admitted she felt just as overwhelmed.

But at least they were here, at least they had this.

A beautiful sunrise in a beautifully empty land.

One day it would be full of life…

… and one day they would both hear what they wanted from each other.

It was a beautiful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> while sifting through all my Nia/Morag stuff (i really need to come up with a ship name -3-;;) i realized that Nia has never SAID 'i love you' about Morag, she always get REALLY CLOSE but just can't get it out...
> 
> now, normally people would look at this as 'bad', but as someone that has a similar issue where if i get too emotional i literally lose the function to speak! i think i get where Nia's coming from... with Rex, and even Jin, she could 'easily' associate the emotion, easily say it as it was a surface thing... whereas with everyone's favorite woobie, the emotion is too strong, too deep, TOO PASSIONATE! that even if she's screaming it in her head her voice just can't convey it... so she shows it in her actions (desperate needy hugs, handing over her sword, pouncing~)
> 
> i feel like Morag, once she realizes this, would tease her mercilessly about it... because woobie loves her kitty-waifu~ 
> 
> also a bit of a joke about how in PROJECT NOAH they're not married~ i feel like that's Morag's fault...
> 
> me overthinking past midnight, of course~ oh well~ FLUFF!


	10. Those who Bare Fangs at God...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Face-to-face with the Architect... what will he say...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the title comes from 'One who Bares Fangs at God' the final battle music from Xenogears... as i was playing that primarily while writing, it adds a good bit to the theme here if you listen while reading... and well... i love references~

Those who bare fangs at God…

\-----

_… there was a sharp pain in her side. Looking down, raising a once pristine white glove, she saw crimson._

_The wound the Torna woman inflicted in her side, it was bleeding…_

_The edges of her sight were being eaten away, turning black…_

_There was a rumble from the large forest behind her, a smirk rising past bloody lips on her face as she felt the tremble in the ground._

_There was something said, and in the last instance she was momentarily saved by a large white beast._

_He pulled her into a cramped space under the roots of a tree. **She** was there, tears streaming down her face, gold eyes fierce as she shouted something._

_The pain in her side was fading, everything was going numb and the blackness was consuming her vision._

_She just wanted to keep the Gormotti woman in sight, the last thing she would see…_

_A bloody smile._

_“Take good care of her.”_

_Those tears came harder, her beautiful face frozen in disbelief… then rage._

_And the world went black and cold._

_\-----_

_… there was fighting on some battlefield. Titan weapons and Blades all around them, all-out war…_

_She felt at her back, the beautiful Gormotti water Blade, using her scimitar to block attacks and heal her while Brighid’s fire defended them both and lashed out at anyone that got too close._

_There was some shelling, an attack, the world went sideways…_

_A cold clawed hand was touching her cheek when she came too, something slick about it seeming wrong…_

_“Morag…”_

_Her eyes shot open, wider than they’d ever been as the sound of battle all around them became a buzz in her head._

_Nia… Nia was on top of her… a mass of weapons through her… her core crystal cracked…_

_And she was smiling. Smiling down at her, touching her face…_

_“Take care of them, hothead…”_

_Her eyes went wider, reaching out futilely, as the moment she made contact, that smile increased… and she dispersed into ether. A broken core crystal falling in her lap._

_All she could see was red as an anguished scream drowned out everything else._

_\-----_

_“Mom!” some movement, “Da! Can’t you… ain’t there anything you can… you can do?!”_

_“Ciara…”_

_“Please!! Don’t you even care-?!” there was the sound of a swift hit and the voice stopped, only a small whimper taking its place._

_Her eyes were so heavy. Everything was so heavy. It took all her willpower to crack open her eyes, seeing only blurs; one dark, the other shorter and lighter…_

_She tried moving her hand, holding it out for… for something._

_“Ey,” a sweet soft voice was at her side, a warm hand on her own, another petting her head, “Don’t move too much… save your strength, yea…”_

_“Nia…?” it was the light haired presence, even this close… her eyes couldn’t make anything out decently. And she was so… so tired._

_There was a sniffle, movement from the Gormotti woman as she presumably wiped her eyes, her thumb trailing along her face and wiping her own, “Won’t… won’t be long now…”_

_She tried to tighten her hand, tired to lean forward, wanting so badly to wipe away those tears, to touch her forehead with her own, to console her lifelong partner…_

_Nia seemed to read her desires, leaning forward, kissing her forehead then leaning her head on hers, trying to hum some soothing tune but only really managed a whimper…_

_There was a smile on her lips, “Don’t forget me…”_

_“Never…” the Gormotti woman kissed her again… and it was the last thing she knew._

\-----

Morag woke up, gasping for air.

The dreams… nightmares? - _What the hell were those?_ \- they were too vivid, too real to simply be figments of her imagination…

Wide light brown eyes turned around, staring at the room around them. It was wide and circular, with lights under glass floors, and everything looked so technologically advanced compared to anything she knew back in Mor Ardain, like most of the technology inside the World Tree.

“N-Nia!!” she scrambled across the floor, spotting the Gormotti Flesh-Eater closer to the center.

Her voice and heart caught in her throat. The last thing she remembered, aside from the dreams that seemed to taunt her, was that they had come down a long set of stairs underneath a church… in… in Elysium? - _Or what was left of it…_ \- a barren land underneath a dome looking out into the stars.

Looking at her… at her _comrade_ , she could see the Gormotti woman was still alive. Still breathing, still had a pulse… but the pained look on her face, oscillating between scowling, pain and fury… she must have been dreaming too.

- _Where are we?_ \- unconsciously Morag pulled Nia into her lap, holding her, just to know she was still alive, and defending her should something appear. - _What happened to us…?_ \- those light brown eyes narrowed, looking around the room. Their Blades were nearby, unconscious, same with the others…

What the hell was going on…

“Ah, I see, you are the first to awaken, how curious.”

A voice called out from the center of the room, and Morag turned with fury, hand immediately going for a weapon at her hip… only there was nothing there?

“Please,” the voice called, her eyes following it up, “I only wish to speak with you, Mortal.”

Morag’s eyes went wide, staring at what was in front of her.

It looked like a man, and impossibly old man, with long unkempt hair, grey with age, and a body that looked to be sustained only by the tubes buried in his weak and feeble seeming flesh, floating in the air in the center of the room…

And the left half of his body seemed to be consumed by some black vortex.

Light brown eyes could only blink, “Y-you… what…. What are you?”

The half of his face that still existed seemed to smile gently, “I am… what you, children of Alrest, call the Architect.”

Morag could only stare. How did one respond to that? Respond to someone, some _THING,_ claiming it was the creator of the world.

But how he looked, that… that half of his body missing… the age in his eye… there was really no reason to doubt… but… but still…

“Please,” he lightly waved his hand, “Put her down, let her rest and come here child…”

That voice was something else, two toned like something else was speaking through this being. And Morag felt compelled to do as told. Looking down at Nia, face fraught with some misfortune in her mind, she didn’t want to abandon her… but…

There was a two-toned chuckle, “She will be fine, no harm will come to her for now…”

Immediately those light brown eyes glared and her grip on the unconscious woman in her arms was tighter. But the Architect only seemed amused and Morag felt guilty. Glancing around, the others were fine… it was inappropriate of her to… to single Nia out like this…

Against every desire in her body she laid the Gormotti Flesh-Eater down on the glass ground. Looking at her face she seemed more upset, Morag put her hand through her hair, petting her ears, only as a comfort to the woman… and a chance to stall and steel herself.

“You truly care for her?” the Architect seemed to sigh, watching as the mortal woman stood, “Despite what she is? An abo-!!”

“Don’t say that word!” her jaw hurt from how hard it was clinching, ripping the low words through grit teeth.

There was a funny smile on the Architect’s half formed face, and she realized what right did she have to bare her fangs at God.

“Please, don’t lower your head,” his fingers moved again in a gesture, forcing her to raise her gaze back to his face, “You have every right to question my choice of words.” His gaze fell to the woman on the ground, “Such a poor creature, taken from the cycle due to an error I had not anticipated. I merely wished to express my condolences,” his eye returned to Morag, something otherworldly about it as the emotion held was unreadable, “Such a thing was not intended and I have seen the folly of humanity, their actions towards such things…” the barest of edges of his lips rose, “But you… you do not see what she is, do you?”

The only response Morag had was a tight frown.

“Ah, then there is that too,” the Architect nodded, closing his eye as if tired, “You are aware of her true feelings… yet this does not dissuade you, why?”

“Gah,” Morag felt compelled to look away, a hand reaching up to grip the area around her heart, “Why would the Architect care about the folly of my weak human heart…”

That odd kind smile again, “Because it is not folly, and it is not weakness that plagues you…” he closed his eyes again and around him floating screens appeared. Each one had something different, a first person view, some familiar, some not, but there was always one thing constantly in each one…

“Nia?!” Morag stared at what was in front of her. She knew these views, knew what they were because they were hers, her own memories, her own experiences and some of them… “My dreams?”

“Possibilities,” the Architect held out his hand, bringing one down as if plucking a fruit from a tree. He smiled, watching as a young Gormotti woman with black hair seemed to be getting in a fight with Nia, “Some of these are rather interesting,” he chuckled, sending it away.

“What…” stiffly, Morag took a step forward, then another, and another…  her eyes didn’t know where to look, everything around her was familiar yet most were so different from the world she knew, “What is all this?”

“I took all the data from your mind,” the Architect spoke casually, flipping through a few screens, many ending in black screens, “And I constructed the most likely outcomes; all possibilities, all things that could have happened or have happened, just not here, or yet.”

“The future?” sharply Morag turned on the decrepit being, glaring at him, “Why… why would torment me with… with these impossibilities!” she faced him fully, wishing she had some weapon in her hand, “Is this some kind of hell? ANSWER ME!!”

“Dying a thousand deaths, watching her die a thousand times, the two of you always winding back up in one another’s arms again,” his otherworldly eye turned on her, the gravity of its gaze unbearable, “Does that sound like hell to you?”

Morag’s jaw and hands clinched.

His gaze turned back to the screens, “I wanted to see what lay within a mortal’s heart,” he flipped through the screens as if unseeing, “You are the only one here I cannot read easily as you have no link to a core crystal nor are you a simple minded creature that gained sentience from another world…”

Dark brows furrowed, turning back to the man, “What?”

“Here, you have a unique perspective,” he seemed to ‘pull out’ one of the screens, a memory and showed it to Morag.

It was their conversation back in Fonsett, about how she expressed, guiltily, how she was the only one that didn’t have some part of her a Blade. How Brighid nearly offered herself but she quickly declined…

“You were offered immortality, yet you turned it down without a second thought,” that odd smile came back to the Architect, “It surprised me, to be honest.”

Morag’s grip tightened as she looked at the man hard, “What’s the point of gaining something precious like that at the cost of another’s suffering…”

That small smile seemed to grow the tiniest bit, “What indeed?” he waved his hand, pushing the memory aside, bringing out another one, from when they fell into Morytha, “And here? You were offered everything you wanted… yet you turned it down as well?” he tilted his half-face as much as it could go, “You seem quite ready to deny gifts given in earnest…”

This time her hands were shaking, swallowing hard and glancing at the glowing ground…

Her eyes of course trailed down to Nia, unconscious and seeming to still be in pain.

“Its not my choice,” a stern light brown gaze rose, glaring directly at the Architect, “Its not my choice to make…” - _Its hers_ \- “And it’s not something that should be made callously just because either of us could die…” - _Especially if we’re about to die…_ -

The Architect continued to silently stare at her for a relatively long while, then he flicked his wrist and the screen went back with the rest. “For a mortal, you function more as a Blade,” he wasn’t looking at her when those light brown eyes rose to glare at him, his own vast gaze simply looking through the screens as he sifted through them, “Time and time again, you are more inclined to sacrifice yourself, your _limited_ mortal flesh, for those that are more than capable of taking far more damage than you ever could…”

Tight gloved fists shook at Morag’s side.

“So it is curious, especially given how humanity tends to act,” a small smirk may have lifted the edge of the Architect’s lips, as he brought out another screen.

It was when they returned to Fonsett, when Nia teased Rex about the children asking him a certain question… how her answer, as true and false as it was, hurt Nia enough to confront her… and Morag told her the truth, told her everything.

“That you are more than willing to give, to _sacrifice_ yourself and your own happiness,” his gaze fell upon her, like the weight of a universe on her shoulders, “Yet… when offered, when given freely, you refuse to take… why?”

Her eyes trailed the ground, finding Nia again unconscious, unable to keep them from going right back to her. Her hands hurt as they shook at her side, a weight in her chest becoming almost unbearable and she had to chock back the emotions wanting to well up in her throat.

“Its not mine to take…”

Solemnly those light brown eyes rose, facing God.

“My choice was made a long time ago,” her hands finally relaxed, “I have seen… I have witnessed horrible things my people have done. History shows what our… our _Pride_ has brought to the world, same with Urayan envy, Indol’s complacence, Nopon greed…” her frown spread, “I heard ‘they have too much’ and that was reason enough to take, because we could…” she looked back at the Architect, “Its… its not in my nature to follow such…” her eyes fell back to the woman at her feet, “I want to do better… for her…”

“At the cost of your own desire,” that half-head tilted the other way, “Seems, strangely inhuman, to me…”

Morag’s shoulder’s hiked up and she faced the Architect again, “What do you want me to say?”

“The truth, nothing more,” he turned back to the screens, to the dreams his calculations had determined, “It is strange, how the two of you respond.” He pulled one down, it was unfamiliar to Morag, especially given that Nia was wearing what looked to be a modified Ardainian uniform and appeared to be yelling in her face about something, “Given an opportunity without obstacles such as they are, you develop closer, more securely, yet there is some hesitance, still some resistance, perhaps it is simply your nature to doubt…”

“I don’t doubt her…” it was flat and out of Morag’s mouth before she realized it.

“Oh, no, not her…” he seemed amused, watching this alternate view as it played out, before his otherworldly eye flicked back to her, “Yourself.”

Morag had no response to that.

“You say you made your choice long ago, that you are willing to suffer the pain of loss, even surmounting it yourself before it has been incurred,” he set the screen aside, letting it drift with the others, “Deciding, quite cowardly, that you _know_ the choice she will make, thus making it yourself and punishing yourself before it has even occurred.” That gaze fell on her again, “Is that fair?”

Ashamed, she couldn’t help but look away, “It is the most likely outcome, there is nothing… nothing wrong with preparing for the worst…”

“And if that worst were to never come?” there was a raised brow on the Architect’s face, truly curious.

Morag just frowned, she doubted that possibility, doubted it so much she wasn’t even willing to entertain the thought.

“Hope is one of the hardest things for mortals to endure,” the Architect sighed, “isn’t it?”

Her lips pressed into a line, face feeling tight as she tried to keep her emotions off of it, not that it mattered much here. All she could do was nod to his question.

It sounded like the Architect sighed, shaking his head lightly, “I would never wish to put you through any kind of hell, you harm yourself enough already as it is.”

Teeth and hands clinched, her whole body shook, “So even in the face of God… I’m just a coward.”

That placid otherworldly gaze set on the troubled mortal, kindness returning to his wizen face, “You take the harder path, face pain and dangers other would avoid out of weakness, laziness or temptation.” He gave a sigh, “If anything, your fault is an overabundance of compassion, a willingness to give yourself yet unwillingness to take from others, even when it is offered freely,” that two-toned voice grew louder, rattling in her mind, “ ** _given_** freely.”

When Morag turned to the Architect it was like the whole world got sucked into black…

In an instant the round glowing room was gone, instead she was somewhere else, a place with buildings she didn’t quite recognize as they were out of focus and the world was dim. There were fires, the ground shook, and she recognized the sounds of Ardainian troops landing ready for battle…

Swiftly she turned around towards the sound, to halt the troops, to end whatever madness had come about…

Instead she saw Nia, standing under a burning archway that she swore was in Torigoth.

“Why…” the Gormotti woman had her head down.

“Nia?” cautiously Morag approached. There were still the sounds of gunfire, screams and warfare all around them… but all she could see was Nia standing there, not even looking at her.

“Why?!” the sound of her voice broke Morag’s heart, as the Gormotti woman raised her head, gold eyes in tears as there appeared to be a cut on her face, blood splatter here and there on her outfit and hands, “Why are you leaving me! Why does everyone leave me?!”

“N-Nia I…” her gloved hand raised, trying to reach out to her...

Only there was a gun in her hand, and she was aiming it at Nia.

“W-wait, no… please… please stop,” Morag begged, pleaded, staring at her shaky hand to the woman in front of her, “No… please don’t make me…”

Nia staggered a step forward, holding a wound on her chest, “First my Driver, then my Da, then Jin, and Rex and now you too? Why Morag? Why of all people **_YOU?!_** ”

Frantic light brown eyes turned from Nia to the gun in her hand. Why did she have **_gun_** in her hand? And why was she aiming it at Nia!

“Is it **_ME?!_** ” those blood splattered Gormotti ears went down, her gold eyes shimmering wide, “Is it something I did? Something I said? Please just tell me!!” she took another step closer, like she didn’t even see the danger or didn’t care, “Please Morag, why?!”

Light brown eyes raised, trying… trying so hard to take in that face feeling like she betrayed her without knowing what she’d done.

“It’s what I am, isn’t it?” tears started to fall harder, Nia had to bring up her arm to try and wipe them away or at least cover them, smearing the blood already on her face, “AM I THAT MUCH OF AN ABOMINATION?! SOMETHING TO JUST BE THROWN AWAY?! **_ABANDONED?!_** ”

“Nia, please, just run!!” every time she tried to move her hand it just seemed to raise, aiming right at her core crystal hidden in her chest, “Please… I-I don’t… I don’t want to hurt you…”

“YOU’RE ALREADY DOING IT!!” there was a fierce wind of ether from her yell as bits and pieces of Nia’s Driver form started to disintegrate, jagged altered versions of her Blade form taking its place. Now both arms were covering her eyes, tears of crimson clearly falling as her core crystal was exposed…

“Nia…”

There was a shot. The warped Gormotti Blade lowered her arms, eyes going wide with shock…

Red was spreading on that pristine uniform. At the last second, just as Morag could feel her finger moving to pull the trigger, she had grabbed the gun with her other hand and spun it around in her hand, resulting in the trigger being pulled whether her hand was going to do it or not. The result was a bullet in the chest.

“Mo… Morag…” horrified, Nia watched as the proud Ardainian woman dropped to her knees, the gun disappearing from her hand and she fell face first onto the ground seemingly lifeless.

“ ** _MORAG!!_** ” immediately Nia was on the ground, in her Blade form with all trace of corruption gone, as she quickly flipped the woman over, bringing her into her lap, “Morag! _Morag!!_ ” franticly she tried to shake her, move her, something that would get a response, all the while shouting her name.

Her gold eyes saw the wound, the blood oozing out and spreading, changing the white from of the proud woman’s uniform crimson far too quickly.

Nia tried to use her ether powers, tried to stem the bleeding just by putting her hand over the wound, something, _anything_ that would make it STOP!

She cried, sobbed, begged as placed her cheek on Morag’s forehead, “Don’t do this, don’t do this, **_please Morag!! Don’t do this to me!!_** ”

She didn’t want to be alone, she didn’t want to be abandoned, she didn’t want this to happen, not now, not **_again_** … already she’d seen it enough times, why now?! Why again?! Why was it every time… every Architect damn TIME Morag had to go and do something like this and she just _couldn’t **bloody HELP HER!!**_

Nia was rocking, shaking, as she held onto the mortal woman’s body, “Please, don’t leave me again… **_please…_** ”

A bloody glove rose, touching Nia’s cheek and causing her gold eyes to open…

Those tired light brown eyes were staring at her…

“I… don’t want… to hurt you…” tears were forming at the edges of those light brown eyes.

Nia was already bawling, holding Morag’s hand to her cheek, clinching her jaw and shaking, “You are… you **_are!!_** ” collapsing in tears and anguish she held as much of Morag as she could tightly, not caring for the blood, “You’re leaving me again!!”

_“I’m… sorry…”_

\-----

Gold eyes shot open as Nia pushed herself up off the ground, hyperventilating as she frantically looked around the room.

Morag was on the floor just a few feet away, collapsed on her side.

“M-Morag…” Nia’s voice shook, tears in her eyes as she desperately scrambled to the Ardainian woman, turning her over and pulling her into her lap, nuzzling and holding her as close as she could and not caring that she looked a mess or was bawling her eyes out, “ ** _MORAG!!_** ”

“Shh, be quiet child,” a chiding, grandfatherly voice called from not far ahead, “the mortal is uninjured…”

Wide gold eyes frantically stared up at whatever it was that was speaking to her…

She did not expect to see a withered old man halfway in this world while his other half was consumed by a void spiral.

Panicked, Nia pulled the unconscious Ardainian woman closer, trying to be protective but in all honesty far too terrified to properly respond.

“My, you terrify quite easily, abominable child.” This ‘person’ didn’t seem to have any malice in his voice, simply stating observations.

Those cream colored grey Gormotti ears went back and Nia glared at him, baring her fangs and holding onto the body of the woman in her arms tightly, growling, “ ** _Shut it._** ”

The brow above his sole eye rose, “You would tell the closest thing to God in this domain to ‘shut it’? whatever for?”

Those gold eyes narrowed, her brows furrowing in rage as her fangs became more obvious, “You’re the one a step away from calling me an ‘Abomination’ and this woman in my arms was bleeding to death a moment ago, so yea, I’ll bloody well tell whatever the **_hell_** you are to ‘ ** _shut it_** ’ and kindly piss off at the very least!”

“So aggressive,” his voice was passive, not really suggesting he felt one way or the other about her words. He raised his skeletal hand and gestured her forward, “Come here.”

“I’d rather stay where I am, thank you.” It wasn’t even snide, just a deep growl and scowling look on Nia’s face. When the man frowned and repeated his request, her hackles rose and she held onto Morag tighter. She wasn’t going to let her go… she’d already had to let her go enough…

Looking down, Nia brushed stray black hairs out of her face. She looked so peaceful, just sleeping…

“Why, damnit…” a clawed thumb rubbed under her eye, “Why couldn’t I heal you… why did you keep having to die, in my arms, going so far out of my reach…” leaning down, Nia put her cheek to the Ardainian woman’s forehead, “I can’t follow you if you leave like that…”

“An error of your construction,” the raspy voice of the old man drew her attention again. His sole eye seemed to be staring at her, with what emotion she wasn’t sure, “A Blade is meant to cease functions when its Driver dies, to be reborn anew to service another, memories wiped clean to save them the pain of those that which they lost…”

“So what about me, ey?” furious gold eyes rose, staring right back at the man that claimed he was God or something, “Why is it… in every one of those damn **_things_** I had to see… I just… I just had to stand there and watch as they died, leaving me behind…”

“It is the most likely outcome,” closing his eyes he seemed to sigh, “Your construct was never considered, I had never intended human data to be mingled with that of the Blades,” his head rose again, that eye staring at her, “And to think, it would result in a being such as you… not just a Flesh-Eater, but one that could restore to such an unparalleled degree,” he looked down at the woman in her arms, “You couldn’t die if you wanted to, given time.”

Nia’s arms crossed over Morag again, pulling her tighter and refusing to believe this man, “There are plenty of Flesh-Eaters that’ve died…” Patroka, Akhos, and Jin… they sacrificed themselves to they could get here. If they could die then so could she. Even old man Cole, he was aging at this point, he could live for another hundred years but his human side would clearly die by then.

His gaze was flat on her, “Is that what you wish?”

Looking down at Morag’s placid face, running her hand along her cheek again, just _knowing_ she was alive right now… Nia’s ears drooped, “It’d just be a matter of time, find something that could get rid of me, should the time come…” raising her head, sorrowful gold eyes looked at the half man, “But what about her? Why couldn’t I… if my ability is so world shattering, why couldn’t I save her?”

“Mortals die, that is inevitable,” was his flat response, vacant eye just staring at the mortal woman, “Your ability can cheat death but eventually she will die… it is simply part of life…”

Tears fell out of her eyes, as she drew Morag up and just held on to her tightly, nuzzling wherever she could. This wasn’t fair… this just wasn’t bloody fair…

“I do have a question,” the voice called again, “Why do you care so much?”

“Why do you bloody _think_?” Nia just growled at him, not caring what he was or what he could do.

“Hmm…” bringing his decrepit finger to his chin, the Architect seemed to ponder her response. He glanced around, pulling out the floating screens and new data started to emerge. The views clearly different, swapped one might say, as instead of the Gormotti Flesh-Eater being the focus, now it was the Ardainian woman. He flipped through the possibilities, through the worlds that could have been and will be, “You and she do have a certain kind of _bond_ don’t you,” the data in the screen he was seeing frazzled, becoming corrupted and skipping. A frown made it to his face, “It is unfortunate your core crystal is corrupted, it makes reading its data somewhat inconsistent…”

Gold eyes finally rose to glare at the man. Instead her eyes caught on what was floating around him, the things on the screens, the fuzzy data that seemed both familiar and not, “Ey, what is all this?”

“Possibilities,” the barest of grins rose on his half lips as he watched one of the screens, “Friend or lover, you stick by her one way or another more often than not… drifting through the sea of others, you find your way back to her eventually…” he flicked his hand, the screen enlarging to show what he was looking at.

It was from Nia’s point of view, she seemed to be running, towards someone with greyed hair, and as she hugged the person Nia could see their face, and could instantly tell it was Morag, just… older, much older. She looked happy to see her, but there was a weariness to her eyes, tired and… and she didn’t want to think about it.

Her ears flattened against her head, ashamed.

“It seems, no matter what, she will accept you on your terms… however you want this to be,” he flicked the screen away, flipping through them again.

“Why…” Nia’s feeble voice called out, “Why… why is this…” her head rose, looking at the half-man, “Why can’t I just… figure this out?” she looked down, sad for the mortal woman, “Why can’t she just hate me or be angry with me for my wavering emotions, why can’t she just push me away or get rid of me if I hurt her so much,” that clawed hand ran through her black hair, bringing it down slowly, framing her face as she always knew it to be, “Why does she… endure so much, but never just… just…” the emotion in her chest became too much, tears spilling down her face as she looked at the woman in her arms.

“Just make the decision for you?”

At the man’s placid words Nia’s eyes shot up to him, desperate for something, anything that could explain or fix this pain in her chest.

There was a long drawn out sigh from the half-man, “Human emotions are hard, complicated and difficult to deal with,” his eye dropped, “This is why I had not intended beings such as you to exist.” He looked behind her, to where the others were laying about unconscious, “A human can adapt and handle the power of a core crystal if done properly, adaptation is an advantage they have always possessed,” his gaze fell back to the Flesh-Eater, “no matter what, humans always survive in some form, but those like you,” he raised his hand, pointing directly at her, “You cannot handle or comprehend the power of the human heart…”

A hurt frown passed Nia’s face, she had known that, figured it out long ago. Lowering her head, she just couldn’t look at the man right now, “I figured that’s what it was… why all the other members of Torna, why I… why we just… couldn’t handle anything… why I was such a coward.”

“Fear is a powerful emotion,” his voice was placid, seeming to coax her gaze without actually calling her, “And being a coward isn’t something to be ashamed of…” his sole eye looked below her, to the woman in her arms, “She believes she is a coward, unable to take what she wants, even if it is right in front of her, offered freely…” that eye rose, meeting those sad gold eyes, “And you, you are terrified of making a decision, or hurting anyone, even if you already know the answer to both paths, wishing someone else would simply choose for you…” a sad, almost pitying smile bent his lips, “Perhaps that part is the Blade in you, but your desire, your emotion towards this woman… that is the **_human_** in you.”

“Y-you mean…?” she looked up at the man, both terrified and full of hope.

His placid gaze did not change, “Blades feel emotions, they are just simpler, easier, and geared towards their Drivers, as it is their duty to interact with and, in their benefit, to protect them,” he looked down to the woman in her arms, “It is humans that have the hardest time expressing their far deeper and far more complicated emotions. What can seem so simple, like saying a few _simple_ words,” this time when his eye faced Nia, it pierced right through her, “can be a harder task than defying the entire world.”

Those gold eyes went wide, terror and guilt running across her face. He truly could see right through her, to her feelings, to her shame and confusion.

She looked down at the woman in her arms, her hand running along her cheek again as her eyebrows furrowed and her ears went back…

Morag was going cold, so very, very cold… something that just didn’t make sense for an Ardainian since they always were so warm compared to the other humans.

Suddenly the world was dark again, and Nia could hear the sounds of battle and fires raging around them. The altered color of the world, the screams with no people behind them.

That didn’t truly matter, as in front of her was Morag again, bleeding again, going cold in her arms…

_“I’m sorry.”_

This time she was the one saying it, leaning down to hold the woman as tightly as she could, not caring for the bullet wound or the blood staining everything. Just needing to hold her close even if she was slipping away again.

“I’m so… so sorry, Morag…” tears were streaming down her face, heartache, sorrow and loss etched into every word as she nuzzled her the best she could, “I don’t… I don’t know why… I don’t understand what this is… why I keep seeing it… why _you_ of all people have to suffer for my mistakes…”

Weakly, a hand came up, gloved and covered in blood, reaching for the Gormotti Flesh-Eater’s own on her blood covered chest, “N-Nia…”

It just drew out a pained whimper from the Gormotti woman, pulling the Ardainian woman closer, burying her head in her hair.

Morag gripped her hand, both of them shaking, either from weakness or trying to hold on too tight. It brought a smile to her bloody lips. It didn’t matter, none of it mattered… because at least this way, if just for this moment… she got to have Nia, all to herself quite selfishly.

Maybe that’s what the Architect was trying to tell her, maybe even tell them both if he spoke to Nia the same way he spoke to her.

Time was short, whatever time they had. As a mortal she could die any moment and Nia, as a Flesh-Eater, she would just disappear if her core crystal was damaged.

They didn’t have time to doubt, to be afraid, to let things simply fall as they did… now required action, something, _anything_ to just… just know this was real.

Leaning back as much as she could, her light brown eyes gazed into her terrified gold ones. Weakly her bloody hand trailed to Nia’s cheek, wiping away tears, “Nia… I…”

“I know,” her ears drooped and her face looked pained, yet still some smirk seemed to pull at her lips, “I know you damn fool,” she leaned down, putting her forehead to Morag’s, speaking to her closely, “I’m sorry… I’m such a coward…”

Morag’s hand just gripped tightly, grabbing the side of her head, her hair and ear, and just drew her in, “I know… so am I…”

And they both kissed each other, roughly, passionately, gently, desperately, needy… every which way two people could, thinking this would be their last chance…

\-----

The rest of the team was left staring as to the side as two of their number seemed to be kissing each other like their lives depended on it.

“Should we…” Pyra nervously leaned over to Brighid, “Should we stop them? Or something?”

The keen eyed Blade just lightly shook her head, “I think we should just let them get it out…”

“But if they start…” the fire type Aegis’ words trailed off as a crimson blush flew across her face. Her eyes darting from the two, to her Driver who was still unconcious, the floor, and back to Brighid, “What if they…”

“Then we’ll stop them,” somehow it seemed like her seemingly closed eyes narrowed, it was quite scary.

“Avert your gaze Poppi!” Tora had his ear-wings over Poppi’s eyes… same as she had her hands over his.

“So embarrassing Masterpon!” the young Artificial Blade just buried her face in her Masterpon’s fur, holding him up to make sure.

Pandoria simply pushed up her glasses, a smug glare falling over them, “Hehe…” next to her Zeke was turned away, hand over the lower half of his face, “Something wrong my Prince?”

“No, no, nothing’s wrong Pandy…” there was a clear strain in his voice, his eye looking distinctly away and the hand not moving on his face.

Pandoria pushed up her glasses again, spotting red underneath his hand, “Are you _blushing_ my Prince~”

“I am not blushing!” suddenly he turned to his Blade, ‘fury’ in his eyes as he stood strong and faced her.

“Oh really?” the pointy eared electric Blade just giggled behind her hand, seeing the red on her Driver’s cheeks… and blood coming out of his nose.

“Gah!” and Zeke just turned back around, trying to hide his ‘totally-not-blushing’ face.

And Dromarch, poor, poor Dromarch… he had a paw covering his face, just embarrassed. He was happy for his Driver, having no idea what she and Lady Morag must have been subjected to mentally to be… well… so publicly…it must have truly been something dire. “But must they do this _now_ …”

Brighid sympathetically pat his head, watching their Drivers and prepared to break it up should it go too far…

“By the way…” Pyra cut in, walking towards the Architect with an obvious blush on her face and _clearly_ trying to ignore what they’d all just seen, “Um, Father?” she looked at him questioningly as his gaze shifted back to her, “Why is… why is my Driver still… unconscious?”

 The Architect’s gaze went to the lowest grade version of Pneuma, then back to the two that were… well, _getting somewhere_ after his interference, to the boy Driver still unconscious on the floor, and back to the other two, “He is still facing his trials… you needn’t worry.”

Pyra was not oblivious to the fact the Architect was still staring at Nia and Morag essentially making out… her eyes grew flat, accusingly, “You’re not keeping him occupied for any particular reason… _are you?_ ”

He looked at her, then back at them… no words to say.

\-----

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yea, God is a pervert and clearly condones Yuri~ i approve of this Architect, glad to know we on the same wavelength...
> 
> in all seriousness, i've been wanting to do something more... 'angsty' (as that is my primary territory) for this exploring why emotionally this would be difficult for either Morag or Nia... trust me, i've got a few... dozen... half-shots that just need to... well, get finished... >.>; tumbling down that rabbit hole when i'm in a good mood is hard, and worse when i'm not soooo...
> 
> those first few 'dream sequences' are from half-written bits, only with the view flipped as i seem to primarily write from Nia's POV (she's a lot easier ._.) so for those that have read my other crackfic for this, you'd at least get the 'Ciara' reference, hehe... and i'm trying to FINISH the AU one so i can post it... but snippets, here you go~
> 
> this touches on some of the themes i'd been wanting to play with, like Morag's major 'flaw' being she won't just grab Nia's hand and drag her over to her side, she wants to let 'her choose' and by doing so she runs a MUCH HIGHER RISK of losing her... and accepts that... while Nia, on the opposite end of that same scale, just CAN'T GET HER SHIT TOGETHER AND DECIDE HERSELF and actually WANTS Morag to just come over, grab her hand, and drag her over to her side... there's a reason Mythra, my sweet love that i love to torment, literally has to PICK HER UP AND THROW HER OVERBOARD for her to get it! i was trying to figure out why this conflict even exists even if it really makes way too much sense...
> 
> freakin' melodrama... le sigh~
> 
> but also the touchy complications of Mortals and Flesh-Eaters... cause the human heart is a complicated bitch that likes to ruin things more often than not...
> 
> and... i'm sorry for ruining the heartbreaking angst by slipping into my normal realm of 'lolz!crack' at the end... and god just basically being a pervert... my bad~ i needed it after all that... DRAMA!!
> 
> also maybe poking fun at fan reaction to ship confirmation, who knows~
> 
> but yea, just me playing with that end bit... i know in game it says, or at least gives the impression everyone saw what Rex saw or they were actually acting it out and not just MAYBE ghosts of his own insecurities and perceptions of those around him (i have WORDS to say about those bits damnit!!) doing that stuff and he's basically being challenged to face himself for humanity and blah, blah, blah... yes, this is basically the end of Xenogears or EVA all over... i actually liked that call back bit...
> 
> but i also was wondering if the others weren't facing their own ordeals, as they all looked pretty shaken... and well, i can't let that go game, i gotta feed the Yuri!Gods! :D
> 
> its also basically my headcanon now that everyone else ships these dorks they just don't realize it XD
> 
> and man... i am just a sucker for that 'I am a Coward' line... sigh, damnit Xenogears... stop meddling with your grandkids...


	11. Bathhouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While stopping over in Mor Ardain, FOR REASONS! the girls hit up the bathhouse...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is intended to take place some time after Gormotti Tea and before Tempered Fragment, as the intent here is that Morag got annoyed with what happened with the 'guys' at the Bathhouse (Tora's precious H2H) and snuck in later and wound up finding the girls there~
> 
> enjoy!

Bathhouse

It was another one of those days they were wasting away in Mor Ardain.

Earlier, while they were getting a tour of the palace, Nia had snuck off to the ramparts to have a look at the whole city… and to get as far away from their Ardainian company as possible.

They were supposed to be talking to that fop in the big hat running Indol, but the Garfont Mercenaries called them back, along with Morag getting called by her brother for some manner, which is how they wound up here. The Imperial Inquisitor figured while they were all here, she’d give them a tour of her big fancy palace.

So tired of it all, fed up of all the saluting and proper military whatnot and everyone just being so damn… not Ardainian but so bloody Ardainian, Nia wandered off to just get some air.

Of all the damn people to notice she’d gone missing, Morag left the lot of them and followed her, up to the ramparts and, well, thanks to already being agitated, Nia just blew up on her about everything that’d been on her mind. About Mor Ardain, about Gormott, about how stupid everything’s been these past ten years since the war… and everything else.

Morag just… took it. All her bitching, all her whining, just complaining for the sake of complaining, and Morag just stood there, taking it all in. Then she seemed to just chuckle a bit herself, apologizing on behalf of her country.

It annoyed Nia to no end, she wanted to hate the woman, keep up her angst and use Morag as just the personification of everything she hated about this damn place. Instead she just… apologized. They both agreed, in a way, to try and be a bit better to one another, more so Nia to Morag.

After that they’d wondered off back to the group, the boys wanting to check out the hot springs, while Pyra dragged Nia off to get some stuff from the market with the other girls.

That was the last she’d seen the Ardainian woman all day, the boys getting back from the hot spring and then it became the girl’s time so, Mythra this time, dragged Nia to go have a hot bath. Poppi followed them, wanting to join like last time, while Pandoria opted out, wanting to chase after her prince instead, and Morag and Brighid were nowhere in sight.

The second they were undressed, Mythra had picked up Nia and literally threw her into the hot spring, for the ‘fun’ she said, only for Poppi to push the busty light type Blade in then jump in herself.

It made the Gormotti woman chuckle, watching the mighty Aegis brought down by a little artificial Blade, “You deserved that!”

Mythra just glared, coming up from the water, “Watch it,” the busty blonde floated over to the side, leaning back comfortably, “So hey, where’d you wonder off to earlier?”

Gold eyes glared at the Aegis as Nia crossed her arms, “Wasn’t nothing,” she scratched one of her ears, “Just wanted to get a breath of fresh air.”

“Mmhmm,” Mythra looked smug, “You and Morag didn’t tear each other apart or one of you throw the other off the wall, so must’a been a good talk.”

Gormotti ears went back as Nia frowned, “Shut it.”

The light type Blade just kept smirking, basking in Nia sulking. Poppi was just swimming around like nothing was going on around her.

The door opened behind Nia and she could hear footsteps headed their way. Her cream colored grey ear quirked, turning towards the door, “Oh ey, Pandoria, you decided to-er?!” Nia stopped midsentence as she turned around, eyes blinking as that wasn’t who she thought would come join them.

It was an Ardainian woman, tall, muscular from what she could see not covered by the towel, pale skin, nice legs, with long black hair that reached about midback, only a short bit cut to frame her face with a stray bang hanging over her eyes.

Her narrow, light brown eyes.

“Oh shite!” gold eyes went wide and blinked again, looking the woman up and down for good measure, ears straight up and still not believing it, “Morag?!”

“Is there another Ardainian in your group you were expecting?” that small but still oh-so-very smug smile picked at the woman’s lips and Nia knew it was _definitely_ Morag.

Those gold eyes narrowed and her ears went down flat, “That’s just weird,” she scoffed, crossing her arms and sticking up her nose, “What’d you expect, hiding all that under that uniform of yours…”

It was Morag’s turn to flatly glare at the Gormotti woman, “Sorry to disappoint…” she said coldly, lowering herself into the water some distance from Nia. When she opened her eyes to catch a glance of the other woman, she was surprised to see Nia was still staring at her. Not sure how to interpret the look, Morag just narrowly eyed the woman, “What?”

One of those Gormotti ears twitched, “Just… well…” those gold eyes rolled down and away, “Can’t say it was a disappointment,” her ear twitched back towards Morag as her eyes flicked towards her, “Just a surprise!” She looked the Ardainian woman up and down again, leaning back with a cheeky grin, “Can’t say I understand how anyone could mistake you for a man, lookin’ like that.”

It was impossible to miss the red that covered the Imperial Inquisitor from head to foot.

Across from them, Mythra had a smirk, “What Nia, no ‘nice bod’ for her?” then wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

It was Nia’s turn to go red, her ears back and eyes wide with embarrassment before she jumped at the light Blade, “What you doin’ goin’ on about that!!” she waved her hands about, “It was a jest!”

When Mythra just started laughing, Nia realized it was unexpectedly cold.

Now Morag was staring at her.

Once again Nia’s ear twitched, and with all her effort she turned enough to see the Ardainian looking at her stock still.

“Eep!!” Nia crouched under the water, her face red and ears up straight. “Er, wait, what’am I doin’?!” she shot back up, turning on her heel and glared at the woman staring at her, “What’cha lookin’ at?!”

“Erm, nothing,” Morag coughed into her hand, red settling on her cheeks as her eyes went to the side.

Mythra just chuckled to herself, hiding her smirk behind her hand, “You two are priceless.”

“Shut it, you,” gold eyes glared at the light Blade as Nia just sat back down into the water, ears twitching as she was annoyed.

The light type Blade just snickered, grabbing Poppi as she swam by, “Hey c’mon, we stay here too long and we’ll get all pruney.”

“Poppi doesn’t get pruney,” the little androidesque girl pouted, staring at her hands, “Though maybe Poppi would rust…”

As Mythra walked out of the bath, carrying Poppi, she smirked at Morag, giving her a wink, “Try not to kill each other!”

The Ardainian woman gave a strained grin, “I’m sure we can manage.”

“Pfft,” Nia just waved her hand at the two as they left. It was quiet a moment before Nia glanced back over at Morag, eyeing her up and down.

“What?” the strict Ardainian asked in a grumbled voice.

Something soft passed Nia’s eyes as she sat back trying to be comfortable, “Didn’t want to bring it up in front of them, but…” gold eyes passed over the woman’s pale skin again, “Got a lotta scratches on you, ey, get in a lotta fights as a kid?”

A small smirk picked at the taller woman’s lip, “You could say,” light brown eyes lowered as she pulled up her arm, a distinct long scar on the upper part, it had a partner on her back, “I had to learn to fight young. There were consequences for screwing up.”

A pout crossed Nia’s face, “What, they ain’t got a good healer for the Emperor’s sis, ey?”

That smile continued to pick at the woman’s face, “Ether healing works enough to keep you alive in a fight, but it really only boosts one’s natural ability to heal.” She turned her arm over, “Still leaves a scar if it’s too much.”

Nia’s eyes looked over the woman, she had a number of larger scars on her chest and back, looked like punctures, “No wonder yer so self-conscious…”

She smirked, giving a light chuckle, “This doesn’t bother me,” she put her hand through her dark bangs, stopping as she saw the look Nia was giving her, “Well, maybe a little…” Morag sighed, “It comes with the territory, can’t complain for a few nicks in the line of duty.”

“Few nicks!” somehow Nia had teleported next to Morag, holding her arm out and examining the Ardainian woman’s arm and back, “Bloody ‘ell, Morag, some of these look like you been stuck through with a sword!”

“Hmm?” light brown eyes looked down, noting the ones Nia was picking at, “Oh, no, I think that was a spear…”

“That doesn’t make it better!” Nia’s ears were up, fuzzed out, and her eye appeared to be twitching.

Morag just blinked at her, before looking down towards her stomach, “I’m sure I have one from the other day, those horns on that one monster-!!” She stopped when she noticed Nia had her hands around her stomach, seemingly covering up a scar.

“You should’a told me!!” the Gormotti woman was moving around Morag, ignoring as the woman got redder and redder, “Shite, damnit! Morag! How many hits you been taking without telling me!”

“I-uh-well…” She had to look away, Nia was being extremely invasive and it was embarrassing for the Imperial Inquisitor. Too many thoughts were starting to cloud up her mind and it took all her willpower to push them down.

There was a growl from the Gormotti woman, finally satisfied with her look over of the Ardainian woman, then let go and sat back with a frown and crossed her arms, twitching her ears, “Jeez, just when I think I got you pegged, you pull something like this…”

Finally pushing her blush and embarrassment down, Morag leaned back as well, trying to project herself as confident, “It’s just a few hits, you heal me perfectly well…”

There was a grumble, “If I was doing it perfectly you’d not have a single scratch…” gold eyes glared at the woman, clearly Nia was unhappy with her and Dromarch’s work.

Morag didn’t know if the woman was concerned about her pride as their main healer or truly concerned for her, “I’m fine.”

“Fine, yea right,” Nia was growling again, her ears flat.

There was a soft smile from the Ardainian woman, “If it would make you feel better I can have you and Dromarch check me over after every battle.”

“Right, Dromarch too.” Nia gave an odd nod, then eyed Morag seriously, “And you better be damn sure I’mma check you over from now on.”

A bit of pink crept up Morag’s cheek at the idea, “I-I entrust myself to your care.”

“Damn right!” Nia gave a firm nod.

They had a bit of an embarrassing moment.

“Damnit it’s too hot in here!” Nia finally just yelped, getting up and walking out of the hot spring.

Morag noticed quite well a bit of red all over the Gormotti woman and she was almost positive it had nothing to do with the hot water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally i wanted to have another scene after this, honestly i think to just fluff up the wordcount XD but coming back to TF's main file, i reread it and just can't for the life of me think of what i originally wanted to add... since its a fine, funny, serious scene on its own~ just kind of short~
> 
> anyone whose read Inquisitor Nyah will notice A LOT of similarities to a similar scene there~ cause in truth i wrote this way before it and this is the original scene XD
> 
> so yea, angry embarrassed kitty~ she has this pesky need to help woobie for WHATEVER REASON and just can't handle it~ XD


	12. Whittling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nia had to come up with some hobby living in Mor Ardain...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> while short, this has a lot of tidbits from Project Noah and I'll probably make a larger scene of this for that... 
> 
> essentially this is a bit of a... 'response' to Things Left Unsaid, in the Project Noah timeline~ so 6-10yrs after that~
> 
> spoilers for PN if you squint ;P

 

Nia whittles.

Of all the things she figures out to do to spend time with her daughter, she takes up whittling.

Making things out of water was only so entertaining, and it didn’t really amount to much. The waters of Elysium didn’t have as much ether as the water produced by the Titans so it was more difficult to work with. It was fun to do something animated and for Ciara that was entertaining for so long, but Nia wanted to give her daughter something more tangible.

Something that would last.

Messing with her water creations gave her a better ability at visualizing and honing the forms she wanted to make, they had even improved over the months she had been using them to entertain Ciara when it was just the two of them.

But it wasn’t all she wanted…

Morag had started going back out doing her job. Ciara was old enough that she could eat solid foods and didn’t need her mother around constantly, Gwen even helped with changing her and taking care of her from time to time. Translating things for her baby Driver when needed…

So that gave Nia some more free time, and she wound up whittling.

She wanted to give Ciara something to play with, handmade toys, things she could hold onto for a while to come.

It also gave her the chance to make something for the woman she loved, something she could take with her when Nia stayed behind to watch their daughter, something they both agreed on. Morag was meant to be traveling, she loved her job, needed to be out doing action for her country and her brother. It didn’t mean she loved her family any less, it was just her nature. Nia would go with her on occasion, but more often than not opted to stick around and watch their daughter.

It didn’t mean she didn’t miss Morag any less, and she knew the Ardainian woman missed them both just as much.

But she was an active, duty conscious Ardainian, and Nia, despite what she was, still was a Gormotti. They liked being at home, they liked a slower life, and being around family.

So Morag left for days on end, being the Inquisitor… and Nia stayed, being the best Da she could to their little girl.

Though, from what Niall said, and Nia remembered before Ciara was born, Morag was spending more and more time in the Palace when she returned from a mission, more time to be home with her family.

So Nia passed the lonely days whittling when not taking care of Ciara…

Already she’d made a number of figurines for their daughter… and she’d chewed through half of them. Her fangs had come in and were quite painful, Nia liked to joke that they were another reason Morag went running off chasing after criminals, the idea of her teething daughter nipping at her terrified her…

Not that she didn’t mind when Nia did it.

When Morag had come home and found Nia in a pile of wood shavings with a knife in one hand passed out on the floor and Ciara poking her with a block of wood, the Inquisitor had no idea what to think. She’d put their daughter to bed and tried picking Nia up in a comfortable way, intent to put her to bed.

Instead Nia had woken up slightly, grumbling about her being home late. Morag couldn’t help but ask what she’d been doing, covered in wood shavings like that…

“I’mma Gormotti… we make things… outta… wood…” was her response, before she’d fallen back to sleep.

Morag had just shaken her head, putting Nia to bed. The fact the woman was in her Blade form made the statement almost silly. She knew Nia had an affinity for finding wood, but never realized she had any kind of interest in doing something with it. It was like how Brighid could find minerals and rocks just by looking at the stones around them, it didn’t necessarily make her a jeweler or metalsmith.

Though Morag wondered if her primary Blade could do that…

So she’d found Nia whittling on occasion, making figures and things she would give to Ciara, half of them wound up chewed through which still amazed the Ardainian woman. Ardainian teething surely wasn’t this bad… she didn’t remember having these issues with Niall when he was a boy.

Nia actually seemed to be getting quite good with her little wooden sculptures. The ones Ciara didn’t seem to break were the good ones apparently, the poor toddler had cried her head off when one of the ‘good ones’ accidentally broke one day; it had simply fallen and one of the legs at snapped off. It was a Volf, one of the first good ones Nia had done, or at least good enough that it didn’t get destroyed during her teething.

Nia had just laughed, telling her daughter it was fine, she could make a new one. When Ciara continued to sulk and protest, the Gormotti Flesh-eater had tried something else. The figurine was made of wood so it was a living material, out of curiosity she wondered if her Restore ability could fix it. Shockingly it did, Ciara was happy, and Nia was relieved her daughter was no longer upset. Also that this would make _fixing_ any future ones a breeze.

After a while Nia’s ability got recognized by the Ardainian nobles. For Raquel and Niall’s anniversary Nia had crafted them a beautiful chess set, giggling about basing the black and white pieces on rival Urayan and Ardainian pieces. Raquel had thought the representation was a bit on the nose but Niall enjoyed it immensely, he would play with it every weekend against anyone that was willing, namely his wife or sisters. Even Ciara learned to play with that chess set, getting better with her cousin in the years to come.

When the nobles saw this piece many wanted a similar set… they were all shocked to find out it had been made by hand by the Gormotti Ruffian that somehow had remained Lady Morag’s consort all this time. Several wanted nothing to do with her, too proud to even speak with her or the Inquisitor’s heir, but that didn’t stop their wives or young children from approaching the Gormotti Flesh-Eater about similar pieces.

Nia had a thing for games, so enjoyed making them for the children, several of the senators’ kids would even play with them with Ciara, as the toddler had started learning to play the games thanks to her Da and was fairly good. Winning quite often, actually.

The senators’ wives enjoyed her cute figurines, though Nia was convinced they just liked the excuse to approach her and ask weird questions.

After returning after a mission to find Nia, in her Blade-form of all things, amidst a gaggle of senators’ wives… to say the Inquisitor and Brighid were amused was an understatement.

Nia’s pleas may have been left unheeded longer than necessary…

After getting an assessment of this strange occurrence, Morag suggested Nia try selling her creations. Apparently she’d just been handing these things away to small children and nearly throwing them at the senators’ wives to get them away from her.

Both Brighid and Dromarch snickered at Nia’s reaction. She apparently never thought of making money off these things… but with the way the nobles were acting she could have already made a tidy profit.

Nia’s first piece she sold through an auction sold for three times what she thought it was worth… she spent the money on buying ‘quality wood’ from Gormott, since apparently all the scraggly trees in Mor Ardain were shoddy at best.

Morag had just flatly stared at her, reminding her if she had wanted higher quality materials she could have just asked the Inquisitor to pick them up… or come with her and avoid the outrageous handling fees she was sure were involved getting them through a trade guild.

Looking sheepish, Nia agreed with the later… she’d take any chance to spend more time with her lover after all. Ciara was getting old enough she could spend a few days without either of her parents. Gwen could handle her mostly though Brighid and Dromarch offered to look after her as well, Nia could accompany Morag as her Blade after all…

Nia had just thrown back they could have just asked to spend time with their granddaughter…

So Nia got better at her whittling.

She would join Morag whenever she went to Gormott for the best materials, make a few pieces in her spare time, and by the time she got back would offer Ciara first choice, Morag too, then sell the rest.

Morag never seemed to take one. Brighid had taken a small figure of a tiger when Nia made one, basing it off Dromarch, claiming it was cute and easy to carry around. Ciara’s favorite was a dragon, similar to the one Nia had made with water years ago.

Nia still offered her creations to her lover. Morag would compliment their creation and each time they got better and better, but didn’t seem interested in taking one. She even mentioned that her bear carvings were better than the ones Mor Ardain was known for.

Each compliment would encourage Nia, but she still wanted to give the Inquisitor something… something she could keep with her to remind her what she had to come home to.

Nia worried about her love and whittled away. Their daughter found it amusing to watch her Da make her figurines, even started trying herself. Ciara was good at strategy and playing games, but apparently didn’t have _enough_ Gormotti in her to have any talent with woodwork.

She kept trying though, and her Da encouraged her, even if they both knew her creations were terrible.

It was during one of their times whittling together that Ciara asked a question Nia was surprised to hear from the young girl:

“Da… why don’t you and Mother have rings?”

Their gold eyes met and all Nia could do was blink at her daughter.

It was a good question, she just wasn’t sure why her young daughter noticed such things or asked the question.

Her daughter was like her Ma, and just too observant apparently. Her aunt and uncle had rings. Rex, Mythra and Pyra had rings. Even Zeke and Pandoria had rings. She was just curious why her own parents didn’t…

And Nia wasn’t sure how to explain it. Ciara was a smart kid, that much was obvious, but Nia wasn’t sure how to explain the whole… ‘deal’ she had with her Ma.

They’d been together for over a decade, yet Nia still had a hard time just telling Morag flat out how much she loved her. She tried showing her and hoped Morag understood, they had a kid together for Architect’s sake, but…

They weren’t married. Morag refused namely out of a sense of duty for her country. If she needed to marry to save Mor Ardain she would do it in a heartbeat, and Nia understood this, she didn’t like it, but she knew Morag had always expected it to happen at some point. Even Niall had married Raquel not out of love but politics, even if they had fallen in love with each other over the years.

Officially, Nia was referred to as the Inquisitor’s consort. It was intended to be a slur of a title, but she had made it her own and tried to show how little she cared to the politicians and senators that growled it at her under their breaths.

Now their daughter noticed… what was she supposed to do?

Thinking about their situation and the woman she loved, Nia did the only thing she could.

She whittled.

The next time Morag returned from one of her missions she was greeted by a very nervous Nia, fidgeting, in her Blade form and wouldn’t meet her eye.

It wasn’t normal that was for certain.

She hadn’t seen Nia this nervous in years, it was a bit concerning.

“N-Nia are you-!!”

That was as far as the Inquisitor got before her lover grabbed her hand and dragged her off. Brighid and Dromarch waved them off, clearly intent to watch Ciara while they had time alone.

Nia had dragged Morag up to the ramparts, to the spot where they had gotten together, where they’d first started talking to one another as people. Nia was still nervous as she sat down on the edge. Morag wasn’t going to question her lover and simply sat down next to her, looking at her concerned.

Without any prompting the Inquisitor put her arm around the Gormotti Blade and brought her closer. She had learned over the years that Nia did things for a reason, it might take some time and coaxing, but if she was patient she would get to the heart of this odd action.

“I-I… I wanted to give you something…”

After a few minutes, Nia produced a wooden box, clearly something she carved herself with a few touching designs.

“It’s beautiful Nia,” Morag was honestly surprised. She hadn’t realized her lover had gotten this good, the carvings were detailed and precise, the finish was pristine and polished. It was truly a beautiful piece.

“Heh,” Nia just nuzzled into the woman’s side, clearly trying to hide as she shook her head, “It’s not the box…”

Morag just smiled, glancing at her lover, “I know, it’s still beautiful.”

When she opened the box she could feel Nia shake, see in the corner of her eye the woman’s large ears go back.

She heard Morag’s breath hitch, and nuzzled a bit closer.

“I-I… I know I haven’t… I still… I don’t know why, I try but… Morag, I lo-!!”

Her words are cut off as the Inquisitor leaned down and took her lips, kissing her deeply.

Nia is left breathless and blushing for a moment before she shakes he head, looking at the Ardainian woman angrily, “I bloody had it that time!! I was gonna say-!!” and she squeaked as Morag kissed her again.

Morag just leaned her forehead on hers, smiling at the Gormotti woman, “You already have…”

Morag held up the open box Nia had given her, inside were two rings, finely crafted and made of a beautiful dark wood. Both were intricately detailed, with a unique design, entwined vines that matched one another.

There were words carved on the top of the box:

_Always by your side._

Morag kissed the white mark on her forehead, holding her wife.

Nia just held her back, trying to hide the tears falling from her eyes. She was so unbelievably happy. Happy that what she wanted to say got to the woman she loved, and she understood.

Nia was glad she started whittling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally i wrote this with the idea of it being a summary, probably why its so tiny, but it kinda didn't stay that way? rereading and editing it honestly i think its too cute to be buried in my 300 days pile and while i'm not here yet in PN it is somewhere to get to~ (just got to finish up my current project :D)
> 
> if the name is unrecognized, its cause they're in PN, which i always recommend people reading :D (its beautiful crack~)
> 
> so in her boredom Nia becomes a master woodworker~ and manages to got what she wanted~ hehehe


	13. School is in Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Light teasing after the school in Fonsett is built results in an unexpected conversation...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! THIS IS NOT A HAPPY CHAPTER! IT DEALS WITH HEAVY EMOTIONS, DARK SPECULATIVE SUBJECT MATTER, AND WILL PROBABLY MAKE YOU CRY!!
> 
> you have been warned >.>
> 
> Summer_Dusk looked this over when i finally finished it and she was warned, yet despite the feels said i should still post it <.<
> 
> this originally started after i did the Fonsett school quest, Nia and Morag were of course in my party, and things started off fun... until they weren't... and i didn't want to leave it at the end of the second scene, so buried this until i could finish the last one... to make it... not as bad?
> 
> this was written before 'Those who bare Fangs at God' and is actually the originally idea, jumping point, for that... so that can be considered the sequel to this... even has a few references... even 'Things left unsaid' has at least one reference... so chronologically this goes before opening the doors to Elysium and speaking with the architect...
> 
> erm... again, not happy chap... you been warned >.>

School is in Session

Rex was scratching his head feeling embarrassed as the kids ran off to the salvaging point just outside of Fonsett.

“Man, those kids take no prisoners, ey?” Nia leaned in near the boy, wide smirk on her face, “Really had you on the spot, yea?”

“They were quite perceptive,” Morag wasn’t far away either, unusually close in fact, adjusting her hat, “Knew exactly what to ask and how, I’d have to say I’m quite impressed.”

“ERGAH!!” the poor Leftherian boy yelped and jumped away from the two women, waving his hands about as the blush from earlier wouldn’t leave his face, “Hey, hey, hey! What’s with you two! C’mon!! Don’t go messing with me like that!!”

Nia leaned in further, ears back and gold eyes narrow as she held her chin, “Just curious why ya was having such a hard time answering them?” her smirk got unbelievably cheeky, “C’mon, yea! We all know what the answer is, right Morag?”

The boy’s face got even redder as he looked up to the normally stern military woman, hoping she’d stop this.

The sinister glint in her eyes behind that visor on her hat told him the Imperial Inquisitor wasn’t going to help him, “Indeed, one would almost think you were hiding something?” those light brown eyes pinned him to the ground, “Are you hiding something, Rex?”

There may have been a bit of a squeak from the poor boy as the women accusingly leaned in closer. “Gragh!!” he jumped back again, waving his hands, “C’mon stop messing with me!!” with a bit of a growl he turned back and pointed accusingly at Nia, “Well, what about you, yea?! Could you answer that so easily?!”

“Me?!” the small Gormotti woman jumped back, a frantic look passing her features as a bit of red creeped up her cheeks, “What! Why?! Why ya askin’ me!!” wide gold eyes passed between the Ardainian woman next to her and the salvager boy, “Er, ah, I…”

“Heh!” Rex grinned, finishing off one advisory and turning on the other, “Well? What about you as well! What do you have to say?! Could you answer so easily, Morag!?” the boy hoped to see both women squirm, unable to answer. Nia was apparently easy, now it was just a matter of cracking Morag’s impenetrable military stance.

He didn’t so much as make a dent. Morag just crossed her arms and looked down at the boy with a raised brow, “Indeed, I could, quite easily in fact.”

“WHAT?!” both Nia and Rex jumped surprised, staring at the stern adult.

A small smirk rose on the military woman’s face, “Very well, I’ll say it right now,” she paused only for dramatic effect. There was something amusing about watching the shell-shocked look on Rex’s face and Nia’s growing red one. It was all a front though.

“O-Okay I get it! You don’t have to-!!” Rex sputtered.

“Yer not gonna say-!!” Nia’s wide gold eyes were on the woman, shocked as red was pushing up her face.

The Imperial Inquisitor only held them both with a confident gaze, “There is only one that I love solely, sincerely and with all my passion!” a gloved fist rose in front of the woman’s chest, “That which I would gladly pledge my life, my duty, and risk all of my being!!” the two children squeaked at the unusual passion from the woman, “And that thing is…!!” Morag’s smirk grew, watching them, “Mor Ardain!!”

In the ensuing silence, crickets could be heard.

“WHAT?!” was the loud shout that was the first response. Nia stomped her foot and jumped in the woman’s face, “The hell kind of ‘confession’ is that! And you can’t say something like that about a damn country!!” she was annoyed and pointing in the woman’s face.

Morag didn’t seem to be bother, just going back to an easy parade rest and looking down on the Gormotti woman with flat eyes, “That is the truth. I am pledged to my country, it is my sole passion.” There was something about her eyes, they got a bit tighter, “Were you expecting something different?”

“I-!!” Nia bit her tongue before she got any further. Her ears went back, her eyes were wider than she thought, and she didn’t realize how much she was expecting to hear something else. Her hand dropped and she just pouted, trying really hard to glare at the woman, “Pfft,” she crossed her arms and looked away, “Why would I expect anything else from an Ardainian,” there was another snort, “Bloody military nuts.”

Despite herself there was a pick up on Morag’s lips.

Rex was still staring at them, shoulders slumped and arms dangling as he looked from one woman to the other, “Um, Morag?”

“Hmm?” the military woman glanced to the boy, nothing hostile or offended in her eyes.

That look still didn’t make Rex feel any better as he scratched the back of his head, “I think Nia’s right, don’t think that’s the kind of response the kids were looking for…”

The Imperial Inquisitor just shrugged, “It’s the answer I would give them,” those light brown eyes glanced to the side, “It’s the only answer I have to give after all. Serving Mor Ardain is what I do, what I am,” for a second her eyes betrayed her as they glanced at Nia a moment then she quickly turned around, “No matter the temptations or temporary arrangements, Mor Ardain and the military are my place in this world.” With that she started walking away.

Rex watched the Ardainian woman walking away, scratching his head confused, “Hey, Nia-!!”

The Gormotti woman was already moving, “Sorry, gotta talk some sense into her! Go do your lesson, yea!”

That just left Rex even more confused, “Uh, yea, sure…” he was still scratching his head confused but started walking the other way toward the salvaging point. With a deep sigh the boy crossed his arms, “Man, hope they can patch things up,” he glanced back the other way, not seeing them but hoping Nia caught up with Morag, “Thought they were really good together.”

\-----

“Hey!” Nia caught up to Morag at the next bend, not far from one of the wooden buildings. She grabbed the Ardainian woman’s coat sleeve, “What was that?!”

The look Morag turned around with was placid, “The truth.” She pulled her arm out of the Gormotti woman’s hand, turning to continue her calm walk.

Nia growled, jumping ahead of her and glaring up at the tall woman, “The hell can you say that! I was right there!”

Morag just stopped, looking down at those gold eyes. There were a number of things she wanted to say, things running through her mind in response to Nia’s reaction… but this wasn’t the place for such. Glancing around subtly, Morag spoke calmly, “There’s nothing to say, least of all here.”

Cream colored grey brows lowered, along with her Gormotti ears, as Nia looked around as well. Fonsett was a small place, no matter where you went you were nearby someone’s house and there was always someone around. “Tch,” in a huff, Nia grabbed the woman’s arm again, dragging her to somewhere off the cobblestone road, trying to get a little bit of privacy.

Morag just let her, not resisting in the slightest as the smaller woman took her towards the small forest, out behind one of the further buildings. That was where she let go, Morag near the back wall of the building, while Nia paced a bit, hands on her hips, scowling with a bit of an annoyed growl. The Imperial Inquisitor didn’t know why she was so upset.

When Nia finally stopped her hands were in fists at her sides, shaking, “How could you go an’ say somethin’ like that when I’m standing right there, ey?” her voice was low and she wasn’t facing the Ardainian woman.

Morag just glanced low to the side, arms crossed and leaning against the back of the building, “I said it was the truth, did you expect me to lie?”

“That’s not the bloody truth, you an’ I both know that!” there was something fierce in Nia’s gold eyes as she turned on the woman, something genuinely hurt in that look.

Light brown eyes turned to her a moment behind that visor but otherwise the Imperial Inquisitor’s countenance didn’t change, “It may not have been the _whole_ truth right now,” Morag admitted, glancing away as she kept her voice down, “But soon enough that technicality won’t matter…”

“And why not?!” Nia was still shouting, passionate as she stepped closer to the military woman.

A pained smile made its way onto Morag’s lips, her eyes still hidden by her visor, “Because soon enough this journey will be over.” Placidly she looked at the Gormotti woman in front of her, looking at her as if she was no one, even more distant than when they’d first met, “Then _this_ … everything will be back to how it was.”

“How can you say that so easily?!” Nia was so close she could just reach out and grab the woman’s jacket. Hating it for a moment, for everything it represented on the woman.

“Easily?” Morag’s eyes met hers sharply through her visor, “You think this is easy for me to say? I only say it because it is the truth, and the truth is once this is all over, we…” her voice caught and the Ardainian woman nearly choked. In that moment Nia could see it, the small crack in her armor showing the pain hidden behind her eyes before it was gone, covered up again by that stern nature and military commitment, “We will just be comrades. Nothing will have happened. This farce… this fault of mine will be buried like it should have stayed. My mistake will be corrected and-!!”

Whatever Morag was going to say was halted as Nia slammed both her hands on the wooden wall behind Morag, hands on both sides of the taller woman as the Gormotti Flesh-Eater was shaking, claws digging into the wood.

It snapped Morag out of the rage she felt a moment ago, both at herself and her lapse in discipline, “I’m sorry Nia…”

“It wasn’t a mistake,” those claws etched further into the wood, Nia’s shoulders were shaking as she kept her head down.

Morag just gave a defeated sigh, raising her hand to pet back Nia’s ears, indulging in something she knew soon enough wouldn’t be hers to do anymore, “It’s inevitable, I’ve known this since that first night,” leaning back she looked towards the sky, willing herself to not cry, “It’s… it’s just how my life works. I am the Imperial Inquisitor, I don’t fall in love, I don’t have someone to go home to…”

Nia’s claws gave up on the wood, her hands moving to hold the taller woman, burying her face into her stomach, “Stop lying… stop saying such cruel things…”

That pained smile spread on the Ardainian woman’s lips as she felt her uniform become soaked with the precious Gormotti woman’s tears. Still, she couldn’t look down, couldn’t let even her see how much that broke her military façade, “It’s the truth… I’m unobtainable and unapproachable, it’s just safer that way, both in and out of the Empire.”

“I don’t care!” Nia shook her head, still not raising her gaze from the woman’s stomach.

Petting back those precious Gormotti ears, Morag finally looked down, just taking in what was in her arms right now. That minute hurt smile crept on her face again, “I’m not the one you want Nia…” she felt the woman freeze under her hands at that. She knew it was true, that was never something Morag lied to herself about. She stroked back Nia’s ears again, just enjoying the chance to do so, “I never lied to myself, thinking this would be any more than a few fun moments… but I know…” her voice lowered as she sighed, “I’ve always known… how this was going to end…”

There was something pulling in Nia’s chest, it felt like something had reached into it and was pulling her heart out. Slowly she turned to face up, to see the woman that was saying these cruel things.

She was smiling, why the hell was she smiling?

Gold eyes widened as she saw tears slowly fall down Morag’s cheeks, felt as the woman’s hands moved to the sides of her own face and wiped away tears she didn’t even know were there.

“Know that… I’m glad,” Morag wiped away the tears that were forming in Nia’s eyes, “I’m glad that… despite my mistake, my falter, you were kind enough to let me pretend… for just a little while…”

“Morag, please, I-!!” she just wanted to say something, _anything_ to make this pain stop.

One of those gloved hands moved to press one finger to Nia’s lips, stopping whatever she had to say, as the Ardainian woman just shook her head, “Don’t say it unless you mean it…” she forced that smile further, “Otherwise, you’ll just make this harder…”

“I… I…” her Gormotti ears went back and no matter how much Nia tried she just couldn’t say it. Couldn’t say whatever it was her heart was trying to scream, just to make that look go away.

And Morag just kept smiling, that hurt, almost pleased smile like she knew she was right. She pulled Nia closer to her, pressing the Gormotti woman to her chest and setting her chin on those cream colored grey locks. Holding her tight and stroking back her hair, “See, it’s just easier… just being honest…”

Nia just shook her head, unable to fight the tears. Her legs gave out and Morag just slid down the side of the building with her, again just taking any damage meant for her. That, and the pain she felt, made Nia angry but she just couldn’t express it right, weakly hitting the woman’s shoulder, “Damnit… why, why you gotta just…. Just like that… say it all…”

The only thing Morag could do was wrap her arms around the small Gormotti woman and let her cry and hit her as much as she felt like it. Morag knew, she’d always known, their relationship, as much of one as it was, would never last. It was never meant to be to begin with, just a momentary lapse in judgement when her emotions forced themselves out and Nia… Nia was just… being kind. “This is why I don’t… I don’t falter…” her grip around the small woman tightened, “It just gets everyone hurt.”

“You’re the one hurt the most and you’re the one apologizing!” Nia rubbed her eyes, “And damnit… now I can’t stop blubbering like a damn baby!”

That weak smile crept back onto Morag’s lips as she rubbed Nia’s back, “I’m sorry…” her smile widened when Nia punched her shoulder, presumably for apologizing again, “The military… my life… doesn’t really have room for an actual relationship… so this is the best I can hope for…”

Gold eyes wavered, watery and sad as Nia couldn’t help but shake her head, staring up at this… “Yer impossible, you know that?” as gently as she could, she raised her hand and touched Morag’s cheek, pushing her face to look at her own, “How could someone so… reckless and passionate exist in this,” her grip tightened on the woman’s face, “this strict, stony, impossible to break person?” Nia just lowered her hand, curling up under the woman’s chin, still shaking her head, “It’s not right…”

Morag just wrapped her arms around the small Gormotti woman, “I said I was sorry,” she kissed the tips of her furry ears, “Please, let’s just… enjoy what time we have left…”

Nia’a hand clinched around a piece of Morag’s uniform, forming a fist, as she choked back more tears, nodding in agreement to her ridiculous request. It wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t fair…

\-----

They were back in Tantal…

Pneuma, Mythra and Pyra’s third form, the one that was the ‘true’ Aegis and could ‘sense’ things outside normal purview, had told the team that Malos hadn’t reached Aion yet. With Amalthus dead he seemed to have stopped. She couldn’t tell what he was really doing, just that his pursuit of Aion and the Architect had paused. Despite protest, she suggested they leave the World Tree, leave while they still had the chance before opening the door to Elysium and following Malos.

_“Anything beyond this point, I can’t promise. We should make sure we’re ready…”_

And with that, Rex turned the team back. Mythra and Pyra’s true form would somehow keep track of Malos’ progress and if he started up again they would be back there ASAP.

That was the plan anyway, as they boarded Umon’s ship. Umon had been the only person in all of Alrest crazy enough to fly through the battling remnants of Indol’s forces and the mass produced Artificial Blades. At least for now it seemed they were keeping each other busy, the zealots and robots too focused on each other while the other Titans, so close to the World Tree, gathered their forces and planned out means to evacuate or something depending on what was going to happen.

But that was the thing, no one knew what would happen once they opened those doors to Elysium.

And Malos was just sitting right in front of them.

So they’d gone to Tantal to train. They’d gotten reports from the other Titans, the world leaders keeping in contact and going over large-scale strategies, while the team bent on ‘saving the world’ was training… along with doing the odd job here and there.

Nia, in her Blade form, walked purposefully towards their rooms at the Inn behind Anastasia’s. She kept her face neutral, kept all the broiling emotions she felt pushed down as she reached for the doorknob to her and the other girls’ room.

A frown slipped by her and one of her long ears twitched as she closed her hand into a fist before even touching the metal. Quickly turning around, she went two doors down, not bothering to knock, and just grabbed the handle, it was unlocked, like normal, and just walked in.

Straight to the far bed and just sat down, facing the window, and just… collapsed.

“Nia?” she hadn’t even realized anyone was in the room.

Rubbing her eyes, Nia took a deep, hopefully calming, breath and looked over her shoulder.

Brighid was in a chair in the corner, clearly reading something from her journal. The blue flame Blade was giving her an odd look, brow raised.

“Oh,” Nia’s voice called lowly, turning back to face the window. For a moment… just a small moment, she’d gotten her hopes up, “Thought you might’a been Morag…”

“She’s out,” Brighid’s voice was clipped as she closed the book in her hands, setting it to the side and standing, approaching the odd Flesh-Eater, “Tora and Zeke didn’t want to waste what little time we may have, so went to train in the drifts. Lady Morag offered to join them.”

“Ah, right,” absently Nia’s head bobbed, almost like she wasn’t really paying attention or wanting to respond, “If she’s out there,” she rolled her shoulder, “Figured you’d be out there with her…”

Brighid propped her chin on one hand, held by the other across her chest, “Aegaeon is with her, she wanted to get some practice in with Nim and Boreas,” a light smirk pulled at the keen-eyed Blade’s lips, “Try her hand at being a backup healer, since Rex seems so keen on using you as a Blade…”

“Keh…” the scoff sounded more insulted then in jest, “Yea, out of the lot of them she’s the only one half-decent,” Nia’s hands gripped the bed at her sides, “Rex is terrible at it, doesn’t have the timing down and his ether is all over the place, dunno how Mythra and Pyra make up for it, ey…”

Those seemingly closed eyes watched the water type Blade keenly, “Things not working out according to plan?”

Another scoff from the Flesh-Eater, “That’s one way to put it,” a small growl, “He’s so used to using attack type Blades, he’s got no concept how to use us Healers right! I feel bad for Vess!” dramatically Nia waved one of her flowy arms around, “ ‘Ere I’m trying to keep them all spick an’ span, ready for any fight, yea? and those three idiots go running off getting smacked around… think them damn ether bottles will fix that? Yea right! I get swapped in only long enough to pull off an art to fix them all up, and then it’s back to spamming attacks…” almost disgusted she waved her hand back, “Useless, the lot of them!”

“Mmhmm,” if it were possible, Brighid’s eyes narrowed on the Gormotti Blade, “So training is over?”

“For now,” Nia idly wiped off one of her sleeves, seemingly not paying attention.

“So why did you come in here, Nia?” the Jewel of the Empire’s voice lowered noticeably.

Nia put her hand down, frown more obvious on her face even if she was facing away from the blue flame Blade, “Thought you wouldn’t be here.” Despite her admittance she didn’t show any sign of moving.

“You need to stop this, Nia,” Brighid’s voice wasn’t exactly accusing, but the way she crossed her arms showed her distaste with the situation.

“Stop what?” the way Nia’s voice lowered and sounded almost hollow made it clear she knew what Brighid was getting at.

A tight frown pulled at the blue flame Blade’s lips, “You need to stop coming here, after spending the whole day training with Rex… expecting something from Lady Morag.”

“She’s not here,” Nia says flatly.

“That doesn’t change why you come here, even when she’s not,” with a shake of her head, the frown increased on Brighid’s face, “You shouldn’t be coming here, looking for something your own _Driver_ refuses to give you.”

Clawed hands gripped tightly on the bed at her sides as Nia’s jaw set, “And what do you know about why I come here or not, ey?”

Brighid just looked at the Flesh-Eater sternly, “It’s not fair to Lady Morag.”

“Fair?” Nia’s shoulders shook and the word came out half hoarse whisper, half laughter, “Fair?!” she leans her head back, a growl entering her voice as slowly she turns to Brighid with sharp golden eyes, “You wanna talk to _me_ about fair?!” her face goes suddenly stony as she turns enough to show the corrupted core crystal on her collar bone, “Let’s talk about **_fair_** , Brighid, precious Jewel of the Empire.” Unconsciously a clawed hand raised and holds the corrupt core crystal, “Fair is being able to go through life not having to worry about your Driver. _Fair_ is never failing them, never losing them, always being there right at the nick of time to catch them, then fix them, _heal_ them and not having to worry about what happens when they slip away, like few of us ever do.”

“Nia,” Brighid started, trying to get her to stop.

“ ** _Fair_** ,” her hands were in tight fists, her lips pulled back in a snarl as she faced the back window again, “Is not having something… _repulsive_ … done to you,” Nia was gripping around her corrupted core crystal tighter, “Against your will, cause someone else wanted it. Doesn’t matter the reason.” She lowered her head, “Fair… is not having to watch your comrades kill themselves for stupid reasons…”

“The Torna members sacrificed themselves nobly,” some part of Brighid meant it, but it still felt like she was pulling the words through grit teeth, “But that doesn’t erase what they did…”

“You think I don’t know that?” Nia growled, still looking away, “Doesn’t change the fact I watched my…” she breathed in deeply, “My… damnit! I can’t even call them ‘friends’ but they were a lot more than just some jackass enemies!” her hand gripped on her chest, “They had their problems, but damnit! I knew **_them_** longer than I known any of **_you!_** ” that last word was almost a shout, almost accusatory, “And they knew what I was from the start… just like the rest of them ‘cept Mikhail…” those long ears dropped, “Him and Patroka… bloody idiots, you should’a gone been happy together…”

“They did what they felt was right,” the blue flame Blade crossed her arms. It still ruffled Brighid, and she was sure Morag as well, to be indebted to Torna. The same people, Flesh-Eaters and Blade-Eater, that killed so many Ardainians just for their core crystals.

“Shut it,” Nia’s voice was low, “I know you don’t care, it was just convenient that they did something useful before getting themselves killed.”

“It’s a complicated subject,” those seemingly closed eyes on the elegant blue flame Blade glared, “Don’t think you are the only one affected by the meaning and feelings evoked by their final acts.” Brighid had seen how being ‘saved’ by Torna had affected her Driver. It was one of the reasons Morag _needed_ to go out and do something, to train more, in ways she hadn’t before in preparation for what none of them, save perhaps Pneuma, knew was coming next.

Nia stared at the ground in front of her, ears low back and a kind of pained fury still on her face. She knew she’d gone too far but didn’t have the means to apologize or go further.

Taking a deep breath, Brighid moved around the bed. One of them had to act like an adult, and festering wasn’t going to get this difficult subject to move any further. “Nia,” her voice was gentle as she patiently waited for the Gormotti Flesh-Eater to look up at her, “Why are you doing this?”

It looked like something was about to break in the woman’s gold eyes, “I don’t…” she stared, stopping as tears started to form and her jaw clinched, “I don’t _know_ … I don’t understand any of this!!” Nia lowered her head, one hand supporting and trying to cover or stem her tears while the other held onto her chest, right next to her corrupted core crystal, “Things just… it doesn’t make sense, _any of it_!”

Brighid crouched in front of the woman, putting her hand on her shoulder, genuinely concerned seeing this breakdown of the normally so strong and carefree Gormotti woman. She may have been angry at Nia’s current actions, her pattern of spending the day with Rex, Mythra and Pyra, only to come back evening after evening to their room just… _waiting_ for something from her Driver. Brighid had suspected it was Nia sulking, annoyed at Rex’s continued rejection and just _settling_ for Lady Morag and that wasn’t fair to the mortal woman… but this… this didn’t seem that simple.

She was genuinely confused and hurt about something, and Brighid wanted to know what.

“It’s like…” pain raced across Nia’s face, her grip on her chest becoming tighter, “It’s like being ripped in half…” raising her head, she looked at Brighid, pained and feeling so much she didn’t know how to make sense of it. “It’s just… it’s all _there_ and I can’t… I don’t… I don’t know or understand it… none of it!”

“Shh,” raising a blue gloved hand the blue flame Blade ran it down Nia’s cheek, trying to comfort the clearly distraught woman, “Start from the beginning, if that helps…”

She tried opening her mouth, but no words came. Lowering her head, Nia just shook it, unable to look the elegant woman in the face, “She… she said she didn’t want me…”

Brighid’s hand stopped, her brow tilting down, “Who?”

Nia’s face got tighter, holding back tears, “Morag…”

That just left Brighid very confused, “That doesn’t sound like Lady Morag.”

“Yea, well,” reflexively Nia rubbed her elegant sleeve under her nose, “That’s basically what she said…”

“Basically?” lightly, Brighid moved Nia’s chin, forcing her to look at the blue flame Blade, “What were her words exactly?”

“Why’s it matter?” those long Gormotti ears went back, “She doesn’t want me…” something was crawling up her face, and she forced herself to look away, ignoring Brighid’s hand, “No one wants me…”

With more force than was probably intended, Brighid brought Nia’s gaze back to her, those seemingly closed eyes boring into the Gormotti woman’s gold ones, “Tell me, exactly what she said…”

Tears were there, forming at the edges of Nia’s eyes, “That… that she knew from the beginning… this was just…” a frown pulled at her lips, she wanted so badly to look away, “It wasn’t nothing… that when it was all over, this… this mistake she kept callin’ it, would end and we’d just…” once again she wrenched her face away from Brighid’s keen eyes, “We’d separate, we go our own ways, because all this would be over and she…” her hands clinched at her sides, “She…”

“What else did she say?” Brighid had her arms crossed now, watching the Flesh-Eater.

“She said…” ashamed, Nia slowly, ever so slowly turned back to the elegant blue flame Blade, “ ‘I’m not the one you want’…” her lip quivered, “How can she know that?”

With a deep sigh, Brighid’s shoulders slumped, seeing how this all must have come about, “I’m sorry you had to hear that…”

“I’m serious,” something lit in those shimmering gold eyes, “How does she know? I can’t even…” Nia clinched her teeth, baring her fangs as if in pain, “I can’t even make sense of all this myself… so how?” those gold eyes cut to Brighid, “ ** _How_** does she know… when I can’t even say the words I’m bloody screaming in my head?”

That look surprised Brighid, the ferocity, the raw emotion… it was not something she had ever seen on a Blade before. A human, sure, she saw that kind of look when Emperor Niall nearly died on her Driver, but on Nia? On a Blade?

- _But she’s not wholly a Blade…_ \- that’s when it hit Brighid, why all of this was so difficult, so painful and confusing for Nia.

“Nia,” Brighid moved to sit next to the woman on the bed, reaching out to hold her hand to get her attention, “I’m going to ask you some questions, can you answer them as honestly as you are able?”

A low side glare met the blue flame Blade, “Is this going to help?”

“Possibly,” she squeezed her hand, trying to be encouraging, “Do you remember your time as a Blade?”

 Those eyes became narrower, her ears lower, “Yea… some of it…” she looked away, in pain but stony, “Why?”

“Your Driver…” Brighid approached the subject gently, Nia may have told them her ‘sister’ had been her Driver, but never their names. Never any true details. Brighid could easily surmise she looked back on those memories, at least some of them, fondly… but a whole lot more of them were tinged with a kind of pain, possibly hate, but mostly sadness no one truly wanted to address. So, this next part was extremely difficult for a number of reasons, “Do you remember how you felt about her?”

“What kind of question is that?!” Nia spat back, glaring at the Jewel of the Empire, “I loved her! I wanted nothing in this world more than to save her!! And I **_failed_** her!!”

“Nia,” Brighid had an iron grip on the Gormotti woman’s hand, watching how despite the rage that passed her face… there were tears in her eyes, “Please, calm down…”

“Why?” she bared her fangs, “Why should I?” raising her free hand, she pressed it to her head, as if it hurt, “You don’t know what its like… having that… **_failing_** like that… only to wake up and…” lowering her hand, she held it out, glaring at it with a kind of fury Brighid was perfectly willing to admit that no, she couldn’t understand, “Do you know… my ‘Driver’ form… do you know what it is? What it feels like?”

All she could do was shake her head, “I have no idea.”

“Be grateful you don’t understand,” when those gold orbs looked at Brighid, there was something hollow and dead about them, “It’s like… I’m wearing her fucking skin…” mechanically she lowered her head again, staring at her hand, “A fake… cloaked in someone else’s flesh…”

Lowering her gaze, Brighid focused on Nia’s hand, holding it with both of hers as a sign of sympathy, “If I asked whether or not that statement has to do with how you became what you are, would you answer it?”

For a long moment Nia just looked away from the blue flame Blade, her face unreadable, but her free hand clinched into a fist, “I think it’s best you don’t ask that question…” Nia turned towards the Ardainian Blade but kept her eyes low, not looking at her face, “I couldn’t tell you the answer if I wanted to anyway…”

“I see,” Brighid pat the Flesh-Eater’s hand, again as a sign of sympathy more than anything else, “Then I will simply continue,” facing Nia again, she asked directly, “How do you feel about your father? Before or after the incident…”

Nia seemed to stare blankly.

The stillness from the normally so vibrant Blade was unnerving, “Nia?”

She blinked, taking a breath and seemed to wake up from wherever she had gone, gold eyes turning to the blue flame Blade before away again, “Can’t say… don’t really remember…”

“Truthfully or intentionally?” Brighid griped Nia’s captive hand, garnering her attention, “I understand what you went through was traumatic, your reactions are…” a frown formed on the elegant blue flame Blade’s face, “unsettling to say the least, so I only ask this to establish a baseline, but if it is too much I understand.”

“Intentionally,” Nia pulled away her hand with a snap, looking away, “I don’t want to remember what happened after what he-!!” she suddenly frowned, her eyes narrowing, “After what happened.”

“Very well,” Brighid sat up straight, setting her hands in her lap now that they were unoccupied, “Then we’ll focus on how you felt about your Driver,” those seemingly closed eyes watched the Gormotti Blade intently, “You said quite openly that you loved her, as a sister I would assume, familial affection, similar in vein to the natural affection a Blade has for their Driver, correct?”

“She was my sister, yea,” there was a nod, those long Gormotti ears going back but not in agitation, “I cared for her, watched out for her, been with her since she was little and she…” Nia paused, biting her lower lip, “She was almost an adult, yea…” there was a sniffle as she wiped her face with one of her elegant sleeves, “Think I might’a been her mum’s Blade, since I never saw her, always just the four of us…”

“Four?” a blue brow rose.

“Dromarch…” there was a sigh, “ _That_ Dromarch, was my Da’s Blade…”

“Ah, yes,” Brighid nodded, focusing on her hands, knowing this next part would be difficult, “Prior to what happened, you were just a normal Blade, looking upon your Driver and her family as your own with the affection that afforded you, correct?” she waited for a verbal answer but Nia only gave a curt nod, still looking away. It brought a sigh to the Jewel of the Empire’s lips, “Very well, and how were your emotions after… what happened?”

There was that disturbing silence again, Nia’s face stony in a way Brighid could only say she had seen on veteran soldiers… even Lady Morag at times.

It was not a look meant to be on a Blade.

“Nia,” Brighid’s voice was low and soft, placing her hand on the Gormotti Blade’s shoulder, trying to be a comfort in some small way, “What’s the first thing you remember?”

“I was… I was…” her gold eyes were nowhere near the blue flame Blade, something about them lost, seeing something in the distant past Brighid could only guess at. Her hands shook, clinching and unclenching as her long ears twitched, mostly lowering, “… terrified.”

“I see,” fear was not an emotion Blades should know, at least, not strongly. They were designed to fight and protect their human counterparts, many of them relished combat and while some preferred peaceful solutions or non-combative pursuits, Brighid couldn’t say she’d ever known a Blade to be truly terrified. At least… not one that was awakened.

Nia’s hands finally found a spot on her knees, clinched in tight fists as her cream colored grey brows furrowed low and a frown marred her face, “I was scared, alright? That what you want to hear?!”

“Given what occurred it is understandable,” she squeezed the Gormotti Blade’s shoulder.

“It’s not what you think,” Nia scoffed, turning away, “I was scared after my Da died… scared and alone, so I grabbed the core crystal he’d left… reawakened Dromarch and he…” her shoulders shook and her face became tighter, “He was there, but it wasn’t _him_ … not the one I knew,” unconsciously one of her hands rose to her chest, “And that… hurt, I think…” she tilted her head, clearly confused at the memory, “I wasn’t alone, had no more reason to be scared but it… I was still terrified and he was… just nice, like Da…”

“Mm,” Brighid just nodded. Nia had mentioned before that she saw Dromarch like a parent or a butler, considering he was her father’s former Blade perhaps when he reawakened he took on some of the man’s personality. - _But did that help or hinder her, I wonder?_ \- it was a thought, after seeing what Nia just went through _remembering_ the events, completely neglecting the transitionary phase between her Driver’s death and her father’s own passing… it made Brighid wonder what the poor woman had gone through.

But that wasn’t why she was here, what she was asking these questions for…

Shaking her head, Brighid turned back to Nia, garnering the Gormotti Blade’s attention as best she could, “So your strongest emotion from that time was fear? Not hurt or regret? Or any other human emotions such as that?”

“Human emotions?” that had apparently piqued Nia’s interest, as the woman turned blinking gold eyes on the blue flame Blade, “What’cha mean by that?”

A subtle smile picked at Brighid’s lips, “I’m getting to that,” she almost sounded smug, hiding her smile, “But I first want to gauge your reactions and responses to other things to get an accurate scope…”

“Tch,” Nia growled, turning away and crossing her arms frustrated, “You already picked at things you shouldn’t have…”

“I know, but it’s necessary,” she placed her hand on one of the Gormotti Blade’s fists in her lap. Brighid was trying to be as considerate as possible, but this was an unusual topic and theory she was testing, “How would you describe this… _fear_ you felt, compared to the feelings you had when you were a Blade.”

“I’m still a Blade,” Nia snapped lowly, sharp gold eyes glaring at Brighid… only to give in and sigh, “Yea, I know… shut it.” She ignored the flat look from the Ardainian Blade, thinking about those _feelings_ , “Dunno what to say… things were… _clear_ , made sense before. I knew how I felt, about my Driver, about Da and his Blade, everything seemed to just… _fit_ , yea?” gold eyes turned back to Brighid, something soft and pleading in them, “But after… it’s like everything’s a jumble, I can’t… I can’t-!!” suddenly she gripped her head and growled, “It doesn’t make sense! None of it! Everything just becomes too much! I can’t handle it! And none of it makes any bloody sense!” Nia leaned over, hyperventilating.

Sympathetically, Brighid rubbed her back. They really had no idea what it was like for Flesh-Eaters, did they? Nia’s outbursts, erratic behavior, chronic indecisiveness… she had honestly thought it was just a show of her ruffian personality, but this? This was showing her something else.

“I just want to know why she said that?” Nia’s voice cracked as she held her head hunched over. “I don’t understand… why… why would she say any of that?”

Brighid frowned looking away for a moment. Already she had pushed Nia too far, she could see that, the woman was fragile, more so then they understood if her theory was correct. – _A Blade with human emotions…_ \- She shook her head, it was a terrible thought.

But rubbing Nia’s back, seeing her like this, so far apart from the normally rambunctious and crass Gormotti Driver they knew… or the elegant if cocky Blade… was this the true cost of what she went through?

“Nia,” Brighid started slowly, softly, “When you think of Rex… or anyone else you recognize or admit you have loved before, how do you feel?”

“Dunno,” she seemed to deflate, her ears lowering as she rested her forehead on her folded arms on her lap, “I just… I feel like I did when I was with my sister. I love them, I admire them… they helped me out and I just…” pulling her head up, Nia set her chin on her arms while staring blankly ahead, “It just… makes sense… yea?” a cream colored grey brow quirked as she tilted her head. That was what she was supposed to say, right? “Why’sit… why can I say it about them?”

A small smile picked at the edge of Brighid’s lips, “And how would you describe your feelings towards Lady Morag?”

A series of actions occurred, mostly different expressions flipping across Nia’s face. Anger, sadness, pain, regret or guilt, Brighid wasn’t sure, but the one that stood out the most to her was when Nia’s long ears lowered almost flat against her head, she pressed her lips together in a pout looking towards the ground with a cute blush on her face.

There were several starts and stops as the Gormotti Flesh-Eater opened her mouth, seeming to try and say something, only to close it, frustratedly lower her brows and clinch her jaw, look away and continued blushing.

“I… I don’t know…”

Brighid’s small smile turned into a smirk, “I think you do know, you just don’t realize what it is…”

Nia looked miserable, biting her lip and looking down. Suddenly she sat up a bit straighter, reaching towards her chest, not her core crystal in the center of her collar bone, but to the left of it further down. Where the human heart would be.

“It… hurts…” Nia spoke slowly, her hand clinching on her chest, “It hurts when I think about what she said, I feel so confused, blindsided, I just…. don’t understand… but mostly… mostly…” her face scrunched up, as if tears were threatening to fall, “I… I don’t want her to go…”

Surprise passed the blue flame Blade’s face.

Nia’s hands went to her face and it sounded like she started sobbing, hyperventilating as she clinched her teeth, “I don’t want her to leave!” her voice was a mix of hurt, sorrow and fury, “I don’t want her to just **_leave me!!_** ”

Out of sympathy, Brighid reached over, gently placing her hand on Nia’s head and pulled the distraught woman towards her. The moment the contact was made it was as if Nia saw it as permission, diving at Brighid, reaching around her and sobbing into her chest. The elegant Jewel of the Empire wasn’t sure the Gormotti woman was even fully aware of her actions… just needing the comfort as her emotions were going out of control.

- _So it’s true_ \- there was a sigh as Brighid pet back Nia’s ears, trying to console the woman. – _Emotions she feels as a Blade, they are simple, make sense and she can process them…_ \- they had all seen Nia’s confession in Elpys, her hesitation towards Jin in Judicium, when she felt towards someone as clear cut as a Blade, she could say or express those emotions. Brighid wasn’t about to say ‘easily’ but they seemed to work out more… _coherently_ than the emotions she was feeling now.

Brighid had no doubt the feelings evoked in Nia about Lady Morag were real, just as genuine as her feelings towards Jin or Rex. The difference was which side of her felt them and how she could categorize them.

She loved Jin and Rex as a Blade… she loved Lady Morag as a human…

It was almost tragic.

With a soft smile Brighid continued to pet the crying, confused woman’s ears back, “She didn’t say that to hurt you, Nia…”

“W-wut?” with a sniffle, red rimmed gold eyes pulled back and looked at the elegant blue flame Blade.

Brighid just gave a soft, hopefully encouraging smile, “Knowing Lady Morag…” she gave a light sigh, knowing her Driver’s thought processes all too well, “The intent was… was meant to be kind towards you.” When Nia just looked more hurt and confused, Brighid’s smile tightened, “Lady Morag, she is a realist Nia, she has likely come to believe you do not feel the same as she does, or that your feelings towards Rex are more,” a small chuckle escaped the Jewel of the Empire, “She likely never even considered that you would want, let alone reciprocate her feelings to the degree she does,” with an almost depreciative smile and chuckle, Brighid rubbed along Nia’s cheek, wiping away some of her tears, “She likely wanted you to pursue what you truly wanted…” there was a sigh, “Without even considering you might choose her.”

“Why?” those gold eyes shimmered, “Why… why would she think I-that I wouldn’t even-would never-!!”

As Nia struggled to get the words out, to make sense of the pounding pain in her chest, Brighid just reached out and pet her head, smiling kindly.

“She didn’t want to hope… hope that you or anyone could love her that much only to lose you in the end anyway…”

Brighid gave Nia one final sympathetic look before standing up and heading towards the door. She would let Nia remain in her Lady’s room a while longer, let the poor girl figure herself, her feelings, and what to do out on her own. Let her process, hopefully, what she had just learned.

- _Nia does truly love Lady Morag-_ Brighid smiled to herself as she stepped closer to the door. – _Seems Aegaeon and I were mistaken…_ \- perhaps she would go find him and they could discuss this turn of events.

“Brighid…” a broken voice called out from behind the elegant Blade just as she put her hand on the door handle, “Do you… do you think if… if I… could…” Nia bit her lower lip, shaking her head as she continued to stare at the ground, “Could I… if she wanted…”

Nia’s shoulders were shaking and she looked so small sitting there alone at the end of her Lady’s bed.

Brighid just gave a sympathetic smile, “I think she would be thrilled, Nia.” Part of her wanted to question the extent of her intentions, if she was truly willing to commit to such, or even give her assurances that the Gormotti Flesh-Eater wouldn’t break her Lady’s heart.

Instead she sighed, taking Nia’s small nod as answer enough. More was needed here clearly, but this small insight was enough to convince Brighid Nia was not being intentionally malicious. She was just hurt and confused. Nia just needed an extra push, a bit of encouragement…

Brighid sighed as she closed the door behind her and walked down the hall. – _Knowing Lady Morag, she does as well…_ -

Perhaps she and Aegaeon needed to have that conversation sooner. Perhaps bring in Dromarch to aid with his insights on his Driver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emotions are a bitch...


	14. Whittling 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nia gave Morag those rings... and has been waiting since...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how the hell did i forget to post this?! .3.
> 
> i think i was debating about using it as an actual scene in PROJECT NOAH and forgot about it XD oops?
> 
> well, its too cute, and is kind of a continuation of 'Whittling' so i'mma just throw it in here, i can reference them or expand on them in PN when i get there (ugh, Zenobia, why's your scene gotta kill me~ Q3Q)
> 
> this was partly a joke i had about how Nia and Morag would ACTUALLY get married, if they did~ Morag is such a derp~

It had been awhile since Nia gave Morag the rings she’d made. She was wearing one right now, and knew Morag wore the other underneath her gloves, she got to see it every time the Inquisitor came home and took them off on her few off days.

What bothered Nia was the lack of anything beyond that.

She had told, mostly, even if she was interrupted, that she loved Morag. She was Ciara’s mother, the woman she fought Malos with, the woman that gave her a home and reason to continue on in this world…

So why the bloody hell hadn’t she talked to her about their getting married!

Nia growled, rolling her head to the other side. She’d been sitting at a desk intent to work on another one of her whittling projects, but caught sight of her own ring and just couldn’t get the concept out of her mind.

The whole point of giving Morag the rings was to not only _say_ what she meant, but to basically propose to the woman. – _Had she not taken the hint?_ \- that didn’t make sense, Morag was probably the smartest person she knew. Next to Brighid, the Inquisitor was the most observant mortal around, there was no way she didn’t get the hint.

So why hadn’t she mentioned or done anything?

It made Nia pout, her ears going back. She wasn’t going to get anything done today until she got this badgering thought out of her head.

And Morag wasn’t around to help answer these things for her…

“Urrrggghhh…” Growling, she grabbed the closest cheap block of wood she had and vented her frustrations on the poor thing.

But oh boy, when Morag got back would she have a word with her!

\-----

“Nia…” the Special Inquisitor spoke delicately as she approached the Gormotti woman inside her little work space. Morag had gotten home later than expected, she had to stop by the filing offices for something and paperwork always took longer to deal with then she ever wanted to consider. But that wasn’t the point right now…

Right now, she was wondering why her wife, in her Driver form, was face down on her desk, sulking, with some very… _lackluster_ monstrosity made of wood next to her.

Walking closer and picking the thing up, Morag was almost certain it was a bear… but couldn’t quite tell with all the rough and jagged edges.

It honestly made her snort.

Turning her head slowly, narrow gold eyes looked up at the Ardainian woman, scowling clearly as she glared at the woman holding and judging her latest piece, “What?”

Morag had to suppress another snicker, Nia was grumpy and while that was cute, she wasn’t supposed to be distracted right now, “Nothing,” the smirk would not leave her lips as she ‘examined’ the rough piece in her hand, “Normally you work is a bit more refined and detailed…” those light eyes narrowed slyly, looking at the sulking Gormotti woman, “Has something been troubling you lately?”

“Hmp,” Nia just grunted, folding her arms on the desk and setting her head in it angrily with her cream colored grey ears back, “And what would make you think that, ey?”

Smugly raising a black brow, Morag looked at her wife and set the rough thing down… right in front of Nia facing it towards the grumpy Gormotti.

Gold eyes narrowed at the wooden piece.

That smug smirk wouldn’t leave the Inquisitor’s face as she leaned back on the desk, “I think I’ve got a good enough reason…” crossing her arms she looked down at the grumpy Gormotti woman, “Care to elaborate?”

“Tch,” there was another grunt from Nia as she turned her head to look away.

“Nia…” Morag spoke softly, leaning closer to her, trailing a finger along her ear, “What’s wrong?”

That cream colored grey ear flicked and while Nia tried to stay angry, to keep looking away and bottle it all up to explode on the Inquisitor later, “Urrrggghh…” she couldn’t. Dropping her hands at her side, Nia rolled her head to rub against Morag’s thigh as she breathed deeply and tried to get this out as well as she could, “… Why haven’t we done anything yet?”

Raising a black brow, as that was a bit vague, Morag moved to sit more comfortably on the desk and pulled Nia’s head into her lap properly. The Gormotti woman may have been sulking and in a bad mood, but she wasn’t going to turn down any physical contact she could get. Morag knew this, so knew it was probably one of the best ways to calm her down and get the information she wanted.

Stroking back Nia’s ears, a small smile on the Inquisitor’s pale face, Morag couldn’t help but ask for clarification, “Why haven’t we done anything about… what? Yet?”

With a little growl, Nia buried her face in Morag’s lap, raising her hands to hold the woman’s thighs. She felt like screaming, why’d she have to spell this out to the normally so sharp and intelligent woman? “… Our rings…”

“Our rings?” a black brow rose and the edge of her smile turned to a smirk.

Raising her head enough to glare gold at the Ardainian, Nia growled, ears back, “Why haven’t we made any plans or discussed-!!” she cut herself off, mouth closing sharply as red spread across her face.

Smirking, Morag placed a gloved finger under the small Gormotti woman’s chin, tilting her gaze up to face her, “Made plans or discussed… what?”

There was a sparkle in those light brown eyes and Nia hated to admit they were beautiful. Morag always seemed to look her best when she was being smug about something and sometimes Nia hated it, like now… but at the same time she couldn’t say she didn’t enjoy the gaze.

Blushing profusely she mumbled the word she was afraid to say, only for Morag to tilt her head back up, give her _that look_ and force her to repeat it louder, “Marriage!” Nia snapped, closing her eyes and feeling her face go red, “Why haven’t we talked about gettin’ married! That was the whole bloody point of the damn rings!”

Of all the responses she expected from the Inquisitor, amused _giggling_ was **_not_** what she had been prepared for!

“Oi!!” the fur on Nia’s ears was fuzzed out and on end as she pushed back enough to look at her _giggling_ lover, “What’s so bloody funny?!”

Morag had to put her hand over her mouth, trying to stem the laughter just a bit, before catching Nia’s confused and angry look with her eyes. She smiled, reaching out to rub her thumb along the white mark on Nia’s cheek, “Nia… we’re already married.”

Gold eyes blinked, cream colored grey ears twitched, and Nia just stared at the Ardainian woman sitting on her desk for a few minutes trying to comprehend the words that came out of her mouth…

“WHAT?!”

Instead of being offended or shocked by Nia’s outburst, Morag was trying very hard to suppress a smile.

Molten gold fury was looking right at her and was so confused Nia couldn’t even voice it, just glaring at the woman as she now stood unable to sit any longer.

Morag waved her hand, getting her giggles under control, before smiling at Nia and explaining, “We’ve been married since before Ciara was born…”

“I would **_REMEMBER_** something like that happening?!” Nia’s eye twitched.

Looking away a bit sheepish, the Ardainian woman scratched her cheek, “Not necessarily if, say, I asked you to sign the marriage contract in front of a magister and you didn’t read it or realize what it truly was?”

Those confused gold eyes blinked, “What?”

Looking down with a bit of a sheepish blush, Morag tried to make this not sound completely insane, “Nia… you’re not very good at keeping things to yourself, you’d have gloated about this, given the chance…”

“I would no-!!” Nia started, only to get a certain look from the Inquisitor and realize she was right, “Alright, fine.” She crossed her arms and looked away pouting, “Those jerks in the senate with all their whinging on about me being with you… I would have rubbed it in their stupid faces!”

“See?” Morag’s voice wasn’t chiding, she was smiling in fact, “And… I wasn’t sure if…” her voice trailed off, her eyes going down.

“If what?” concerned, Nia leaned over, looking up at her, trying to see what was the matter.

“It’s stupid…” the Ardainian woman blushed, trying to look away but the moment her light brown eyes caught Nia’s concerned look she sighed, “I… we’d just found out about Ciara and I didn’t want her to be seen as any less for something as trivial as being born out of wedlock…”

“Tch,” the Gormotti woman snorted, “Yea, only this pompous lot would care about that…” then her eyes popped open, her ears perking, “Wait, we been hitched that long?!”

Blushing, Morag looked to the side, “Yes.”

Gold eyes narrowed as her ears lowered, “When did this supposed marriage take place?” the time around them finding out about Morag being pregnant with Ciara had been hectic, sure, they didn’t know what was going on let alone _how_ , and both had reacted different to the news. Nia knew, and had apologized multiple times, for probably not handling it as well as she should have, she had been hurt and worried about her lover and Driver so everything had been so mixed up…

Perhaps that same fear had been there for Morag and the Ardainian woman just hid it better?

With a sigh, Nia just let go of whatever angst she may have developed at the news, reaching over and taking Morag’s hand, “So, you gonna tell when all this happened and why I somehow don’t remember being at my own wedding?”

Smiling lightly, Morag gripped her wife’s hand, “While you were up on the roof, I had Brighid draw up the paperwork, it wouldn’t do to delay anything and I didn’t want word to get out about it just yet…”

Nia snorted, giving a cheeky grin, “That the Princess of Mor Ardain got knocked up by some Gormotti Blade?”

Light brown eyes glared, “I hate the title…”

“I know,” reaching out, Nia rubbed her head along Morag’s cheek, coaxing the woman to continue, “So it was after that? When I came down worried about you?”

Morag nodded in her hand, “Brighid and I handed you a bunch of documents… so you had legal course should something happen to me and a medical decision needed to be made…” a soft chuckle escaped her throat as she reached up to hold Nia’s hand, “How do you think you were given that privilege?”

A scowl crossed Nia’s face, “Fine, I didn’t read all that stuff you two gave me! I’m not good with paperwork,” she pouted, though still touching her lover, “So… when was this magister involved? I’m not seeing how that’s how we got married?”

Morag looked to the side, something almost snide about the look, “Did you know Brighid is a magister?”

Gold eyes went wide, “W-what?!”

Light brown eyes went back to the small Gormotti woman, sparkling again as if some secret were being revealed, “Not this version, but a prior version of Brighid registered and became a magister… too bad the license was still on file and no one ever accounted for her being a Blade…”

“Oh you have got to be kidding me…” finally letting go, Nia put her head in her hand. How, HOW was this possible?! When she thought of them getting married, this was _FAR_ from what she’d imagined.

She started grumbling under her breath.

Concerned, Morag reached for her hand, “Nia?”

“No, no! can’t just do it the normal way round for once?!” she was more grumbling to herself than Morag, barely realizing she was there, “Can’t just have a nice wedding, invite the friends, their kids or whatnot, didn’t even get a bloody ring!” gold eyes glared at that Ardainian woman.

Morag could only chuckle, “Yours are very pretty.”

Nia could only growl, that wasn’t the point and Morag knew it.

“Nia,” The Ardainian woman spoke softly, reaching out to pull the Gormotti woman’s hand away from her face. She smiled at the grumpy pout, rubbing her hand and pulling her closer, speaking low so only she could hear and to show how much this meant to her, “I wanted to protect you… and our child…” raising her lips she kissed the white mark on her forehead, “Even if that meant keeping it a secret…”

Nia’s ears were low, the pout on her face more obvious, “You didn’t have to keep it secret from me or the others…” gold eyes rose enough to look at those light brown ones, she knew before she said it that she was wrong. Nia scoffed, “Ugh, fine, yea, you’re right… none of them bloody idiots could’a kept their yaps shut for a moment!” her eyes dropped, pout persisting, “Still…”

There was a kind smile on Morag’s face as she rubbed Nia’s hand, “Your proposal was very sweet…”

“Hmp,” the pout grew as she looked away, a bit of red gracing her white marked cheeks.

Morag leaned in again, putting her forehead to Nia’s, rubbing their noses together, “I meant your first one…”

There was heat radiating off Nia’s cheeks as before she could even respond Morag leaned forward enough to take her lips.

Pulling back there was a light hum of a laugh in Morag’s throat, “I think now would be a perfect time for a renewal of our vows…”

Nia snorted, leaning forward enough to nuzzle her nose, “What vows, thought I just signed a piece of paper I didn’t even read~”

“Let’s just not invite too many people…”

A cheeky grin spread on Nia’s lips as she nuzzled a bit further, “Oh, won’t be too much, yea? Just our friends, Blades… your brother…”

A grimace pulled at Morag’s lips, “I almost hesitate involving his majesty… especially after his own wedding…” all of Mor Ardain and much of Uraya had been present for the royal wedding, if anyone so much as caught wind of **_her_** getting married… oh architect it’d be a nightmare! “Can we just… go somewhere secluded and pretend we got married…”

A cream colored brow rose, “Ey?” Nia gave her a funny look, then nuzzled close to her neck, “Starting to think you did all this just trying to avoid having a real wedding…” when she glanced up the Ardainian woman was blushing and looking away. It was Nia’s turn to chuckle, “C’mon then,” she pulled away, tugging at Morag’s hands, “Gotta at least tell your brother and the other’s yea…” gold eyes looked at the blushing woman slyly, “Have your brother give you away proper, like you did for him~”

There was a grimace on Morag’s face, she _really_ didn’t like this idea, “I still think it’d be better if no one else knew…”

“No one’s known for years, even me,” Nia gave her a flat look before smirking, “You owe me this, yea?” pulling out Morag’s left hand, she gently took the professional white glove off, revealing her slim fingers and well-kept nails… but most importantly the dark wood ring now present there. Trailing the ring with her own left hand, it was easy to see the matching rings together, “Least I got you a ring…”

Morag watched their hands, moving hers to entwine with Nia’s, “I’m not getting out of this, am I?”

“Nope!” Nia pecked her lips, smiling brightly.

“Can we at least… _avoid_ telling anyone here,” her eyes went down nervously, “for a little while?”

“Think it’s a bit late for that, ey,” Nia rubbed the ring again, “Pretty sure more than a couple have seen it by now…” with a chuckle she raised hers, “And it matches mine, yea? This lot may be a bit thick, but they got enough brains to put two and two together…”

There was a groan from the Inquisitor, “Very well, I think it’s time we left for a bit…” she coughed into her hand, “Gormott is very nice this time of year.”

“Hehe,” Nia backed up enough, letting her stand, “Ciara will have fun seeing it I’m sure…”


End file.
